Pitkin, CO
How exposed is Pitkin to wildfire?
Pitkin sits at the 77th percentile nationally for wildfire risk to structures — well above the national norm for wildfire risk — per USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities model, built from its 229 counted buildings, not vegetation cover alone. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
USFS's separate burn-probability score — fire likelihood alone, before counting what's built there — puts Pitkin at the 67th percentile, close to its 77th-percentile risk score.
Pitkin's building exposure, zone by zone
50.7% of Pitkin's 229 buildings sit in USFS's Direct exposure zone, roughly 116 structures close enough to burnable vegetation for flame contact, not just embers — 49.3% fall in the Indirect, ember-only zone and 0% are Minimal.
How Pitkin compares
Pitkin ranks lower within Colorado (48th percentile statewide) than its 77th national percentile suggests alone — a calmer spot in a state where wildfire risk generally runs high. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Pitkin ranks 7,373 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 23,815 by building count (1 is largest). Within Colorado alone, it ranks 251 of 472 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Colorado on its state page.
Shopping for coverage in Pitkin
Pitkin's 77th-percentile, high rating is the kind of score behind a broader national pattern: insurers pulling back from the highest wildfire-risk markets, non-renewing or declining new policies outright, most visibly in California. Shopping around, not assuming automatic renewal, tends to matter here.
Lowering exposure, not just insuring around it
Because Direct exposure dominates in Pitkin (50.7%), the highest-leverage fix is defensible space, not roofing or vents alone — covered in the home-hardening guide.
Where Pitkin's figures come from
Every one of the two percentiles behind Pitkin's 7,373-place national rank traces to USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities dataset — see the methodology guide. The exposure-zones guide covers what Pitkin's dominant direct exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.