Ruidoso Downs, NM
How exposed is Ruidoso Downs to wildfire?
USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities model puts Ruidoso Downs at the 99th national percentile for risk to structures, in USFS's highest wildfire-risk band nationally — a score built from 1,621 actual buildings. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Separately from the risk score above, Ruidoso Downs's burn probability — fire likelihood with no building count factored in — sits at the 99th percentile nationally.
What "at risk" means for the buildings here
USFS classifies 51.5% of Ruidoso Downs's buildings as Direct exposure, higher than its 48.6% Indirect share and far above its 0% Minimal share — a profile where 834 structures sit close enough to vegetation that lot clearing matters most.
How Ruidoso Downs compares
Ruidoso Downs's risk sits at a similar level relative to New Mexico (98th percentile statewide) as it does nationally (99th) — this place isn't unusual for its own state either way. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Ruidoso Downs ranks 201 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 8,687 by building count (1 is largest). Within New Mexico alone, it ranks 11 of 495 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for New Mexico on its state page.
Ruidoso Downs and the insurance market
At the 99th percentile nationally, Ruidoso Downs 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
With 51.5% of Ruidoso Downs in Direct exposure, defensible-space clearing and ember-resistant construction (vents, Class-A roofing) address the exposure this page's own numbers describe, not a generic checklist. See the home-hardening guide.
Where Ruidoso Downs's figures come from
Ruidoso Downs's 99th-percentile score and its burn-probability figure both come from the same USFS workbook, documented in the methodology guide. The exposure-zones guide covers what Ruidoso Downs's dominant direct exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.