Raton, NM
How exposed is Raton to wildfire?
Raton sits at the 96th 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 4,585 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 Raton at the 95th percentile, close to its 96th-percentile risk score.
What "at risk" means for the buildings here
Indirect exposure is dominant in Raton (82.7% of 4,585 buildings): far enough from burnable vegetation to avoid flame contact, close enough for wind-blown embers. Only 17.3% sit in the Direct zone.
Raton against the rest of the country
Raton scores 96th nationally and 87th within New Mexico — close enough that its state context doesn't change the picture the national number already gives. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Raton ranks 1,325 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 3,717 by building count (1 is largest). Within New Mexico alone, it ranks 63 of 495 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for New Mexico on its state page.
Raton and the insurance market
Raton's very high rating (96th percentile) puts it among the places where the national carrier-pullback trend is most relevant — not a guarantee of a coverage problem, but a reason to shop rather than assume.
Lowering exposure, not just insuring around it
Raton's 82.7% 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
The methodology guide shows exactly how USFS turned 4,585 counted buildings into the percentiles shown above for Raton. For more on what indirect exposure implies beyond Raton, see the exposure-zones guide.