Parachute, CO
How exposed is Parachute to wildfire?
Parachute sits at the 86th percentile nationally for wildfire risk to structures — in USFS's highest wildfire-risk band nationally — per USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities model, built from its 470 counted buildings, not vegetation cover alone. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Separately from the risk score above, Parachute's burn probability — fire likelihood with no building count factored in — sits at the 81st percentile nationally.
Where Parachute's buildings actually sit
Indirect exposure is dominant in Parachute (73% of 470 buildings): far enough from burnable vegetation to avoid flame contact, close enough for wind-blown embers. Only 27% sit in the Direct zone.
Where Parachute ranks
Inside Colorado, Parachute sits at just the 67th percentile even though it scores 86th nationally — the state's overall wildfire exposure is high enough to make this a relatively quiet corner of it. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Parachute ranks 4,465 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 17,869 by building count (1 is largest). Within Colorado alone, it ranks 158 of 472 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Colorado on its state page.
What this risk score means for insurance
At the 86th percentile nationally, Parachute carries the very high rating that has pushed some carriers to limit new business in similarly-scored places elsewhere in the country. Worth comparing quotes rather than assuming last year's renewal terms still apply.
What would actually reduce this score
Parachute's 73% Indirect-exposure share points at embers, not flame contact, as the main pathway — ember-resistant vents and non-combustible roofing rank ahead of defensible space here. Detail in the home-hardening guide.
More on how this number was built
Parachute's 86th-percentile score and its burn-probability figure both come from the same USFS workbook, documented in the methodology guide. For more on what indirect exposure implies beyond Parachute, see the exposure-zones guide.