Virden, NM
How exposed is Virden to wildfire?
Virden's 119 buildings earn a 50th-percentile wildfire-risk score nationally under USFS's model — modestly above the national average for wildfire risk. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Fire likelihood alone (USFS's burn-probability figure) ranks Virden at the 48th national percentile — 2 points below its risk-to-structures score, a gap driven by how much is actually built there.
Where Virden's buildings actually sit
Most of Virden's buildings (89.1%) sit in the Indirect zone, where wind-blown embers rather than flame front are the mechanism USFS is scoring — ember-resistant vents and non-combustible roofing are the interventions this pattern favors, more than defensible space alone.
Virden against the rest of the country
Inside New Mexico, Virden sits at just the 15th percentile even though it scores 50th 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, Virden ranks 15,924 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 28,208 by building count (1 is largest). Within New Mexico alone, it ranks 420 of 495 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for New Mexico on its state page.
Virden and the insurance market
At the 50th national percentile, Virden rates elevated for wildfire risk — well short of the threshold where insurers have been withdrawing coverage, though comparing a quote costs nothing either way.
What would actually reduce this score
Because 89.1% of Virden's buildings sit in the Indirect zone, sealing the ember pathway (vents, roofing, gutters) is the intervention this page's data actually supports — see the home-hardening guide.
Where Virden's figures come from
The methodology guide shows exactly how USFS turned 119 counted buildings into the percentiles shown above for Virden. The exposure-zones guide covers what Virden's dominant indirect exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.