Quartzsite, AZ
Quartzsite wildfire risk explained
Quartzsite's 3,397 buildings earn a 56th-percentile wildfire-risk score nationally under USFS's model — modestly above the national average for wildfire risk. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Fire likelihood alone (USFS's burn-probability figure) ranks Quartzsite at the 59th national percentile — 3 points above its risk-to-structures score, a gap driven by how much is actually built there.
Where Quartzsite's buildings actually sit
86.6% of Quartzsite's 3,397 buildings fall in USFS's Indirect exposure zone — ember cast rather than direct flame — against 13.5% Direct and 0% Minimal. Vent screens and roofing material matter more here than lot clearing alone.
Quartzsite against the rest of the country
Quartzsite's 56th national percentile looks worse in isolation than its 23rd ranking inside Arizona does — this place is on the milder end for its own state, by 33 points. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Quartzsite ranks 13,761 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 4,920 by building count (1 is largest). Within Arizona alone, it ranks 338 of 441 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Arizona on its state page.
What this risk score means for insurance
Quartzsite's elevated rating (56th percentile nationally) sits outside the range where wildfire risk alone reshapes an insurance market — still, a homeowner here loses nothing by comparing rates.
What would actually reduce this score
Quartzsite's 86.6% 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
Quartzsite's 56th-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 Quartzsite, see the exposure-zones guide.