Sandia Heights, NM
How exposed is Sandia Heights to wildfire?
Sandia Heights sits at the 82nd 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 1,548 counted buildings, not vegetation cover alone. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Separately from the risk score above, Sandia Heights's burn probability — fire likelihood with no building count factored in — sits at the 74th percentile nationally.
What "at risk" means for the buildings here
70.9% of Sandia Heights's 1,548 buildings fall in USFS's Indirect exposure zone — ember cast rather than direct flame — against 29.1% Direct and 0% Minimal. Vent screens and roofing material matter more here than lot clearing alone.
Sandia Heights against the rest of the country
Sandia Heights's 82nd national percentile looks worse in isolation than its 56th ranking inside New Mexico does — this place is on the milder end for its own state, by 26 points. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Sandia Heights ranks 5,739 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 8,961 by building count (1 is largest). Within New Mexico alone, it ranks 219 of 495 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for New Mexico on its state page.
Shopping for coverage in Sandia Heights
Sandia Heights's very high rating (82nd 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
Sandia Heights's 70.9% 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 1,548 counted buildings into the percentiles shown above for Sandia Heights. For more on what indirect exposure implies beyond Sandia Heights, see the exposure-zones guide.