Santa Clara, NM
Santa Clara wildfire risk explained
USFS scores Santa Clara at the 83rd national percentile for wildfire risk to structures (in USFS's highest wildfire-risk band nationally), a figure built from 1,024 real buildings rather than raw vegetation cover. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Fire likelihood alone (USFS's burn-probability figure) ranks Santa Clara at the 79th national percentile — 4 points below its risk-to-structures score, a gap driven by how much is actually built there.
Santa Clara's building exposure, zone by zone
Indirect exposure is dominant in Santa Clara (81.1% of 1,024 buildings): far enough from burnable vegetation to avoid flame contact, close enough for wind-blown embers. Only 19% sit in the Direct zone.
Where Santa Clara ranks
Santa Clara ranks lower within New Mexico (58th percentile statewide) than its 83rd national percentile suggests alone — a calmer spot in a state where wildfire risk generally runs high. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Santa Clara ranks 5,363 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 11,768 by building count (1 is largest). Within New Mexico alone, it ranks 207 of 495 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for New Mexico on its state page.
Shopping for coverage in Santa Clara
At the 83rd percentile nationally, Santa Clara 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.
Hardening a home in Santa Clara
Santa Clara's 81.1% 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 1,024 counted buildings into the percentiles shown above for Santa Clara. For more on what indirect exposure implies beyond Santa Clara, see the exposure-zones guide.