Sunshine, NM
Sunshine wildfire risk explained
Out of every US place USFS scores, Sunshine lands at the 50th percentile for wildfire risk to structures — modestly above the national average for wildfire risk — a figure built from its 468 buildings, not the land around them. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
USFS's separate burn-probability score — fire likelihood alone, before counting what's built there — puts Sunshine at the 51st percentile, close to its 50th-percentile risk score.
Where Sunshine's buildings actually sit
Direct exposure dominates in Sunshine: 98.5% of its 468 buildings, versus 0.2% Indirect and 1.3% Minimal. Clearing space around a structure changes the outcome here more than any single building-material swap.
Sunshine against the rest of the country
Sunshine's 50th national percentile looks worse in isolation than its 16th ranking inside New Mexico does — this place is on the milder end for its own state, by 34 points. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Sunshine ranks 15,761 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 17,922 by building count (1 is largest). Within New Mexico alone, it ranks 416 of 495 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for New Mexico on its state page.
Shopping for coverage in Sunshine
At the 50th national percentile, Sunshine rates elevated for wildfire risk — well short of the threshold where insurers have been withdrawing coverage, though comparing a quote costs nothing either way.
Hardening a home in Sunshine
With 98.5% of Sunshine 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.
More on how this number was built
The methodology guide shows exactly how USFS turned 468 counted buildings into the percentiles shown above for Sunshine. For more on what direct exposure implies beyond Sunshine, see the exposure-zones guide.