Mount Taylor, NM
How exposed is Mount Taylor to wildfire?
USFS scores Mount Taylor at the 44th national percentile for wildfire risk to structures (modestly above the national average for wildfire risk), a figure built from 288 real buildings rather than raw vegetation cover. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Fire likelihood alone (USFS's burn-probability figure) ranks Mount Taylor at the 43rd national percentile — 1 points below its risk-to-structures score, a gap driven by how much is actually built there.
What "at risk" means for the buildings here
Most of Mount Taylor's buildings (59%) sit in the Indirect zone, where wind-blown embers rather than flame front are the mechanism USFS is scoring — ember-resistant vents and non-combustible roofing are the interventions this pattern favors, more than defensible space alone.
How Mount Taylor compares
Mount Taylor ranks lower within New Mexico (11th percentile statewide) than its 44th national percentile suggests alone — a calmer spot in a state where wildfire risk generally runs high. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Mount Taylor ranks 17,618 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 21,967 by building count (1 is largest). Within New Mexico alone, it ranks 443 of 495 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for New Mexico on its state page.
What this risk score means for insurance
At the 44th national percentile, Mount Taylor rates elevated for wildfire risk — well short of the threshold where insurers have been withdrawing coverage, though comparing a quote costs nothing either way.
Hardening a home in Mount Taylor
With ember exposure the dominant pattern in Mount Taylor (59% Indirect), vent screens and roofing material tend to matter more than lot clearing alone. The home-hardening guide covers both.
Where Mount Taylor's figures come from
The methodology guide shows exactly how USFS turned 288 counted buildings into the percentiles shown above for Mount Taylor. The exposure-zones guide covers what Mount Taylor's dominant indirect exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.