San Cristobal, NM
How exposed is San Cristobal to wildfire?
San Cristobal sits at the 89th 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 234 counted buildings, not vegetation cover alone. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Separately from the risk score above, San Cristobal's burn probability — fire likelihood with no building count factored in — sits at the 82nd percentile nationally.
San Cristobal's building exposure, zone by zone
100% of San Cristobal's 234 buildings sit in USFS's Direct exposure zone, roughly 234 structures close enough to burnable vegetation for flame contact, not just embers — 0% fall in the Indirect, ember-only zone and 0% are Minimal.
Where San Cristobal ranks
Inside New Mexico, San Cristobal sits at just the 72nd percentile even though it scores 89th 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, San Cristobal ranks 3,472 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 23,673 by building count (1 is largest). Within New Mexico alone, it ranks 139 of 495 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for New Mexico on its state page.
What this risk score means for insurance
San Cristobal's 89th-percentile, very 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.
Hardening a home in San Cristobal
Because Direct exposure dominates in San Cristobal (100%), the highest-leverage fix is defensible space, not roofing or vents alone — covered in the home-hardening guide.
Where San Cristobal's figures come from
The methodology guide shows exactly how USFS turned 234 counted buildings into the percentiles shown above for San Cristobal. The exposure-zones guide covers what San Cristobal's dominant direct exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.