Waterflow, NM
Waterflow wildfire risk explained
Waterflow's 941 buildings earn a 54th-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.)
Separately from the risk score above, Waterflow's burn probability — fire likelihood with no building count factored in — sits at the 56th percentile nationally.
What "at risk" means for the buildings here
Direct exposure dominates in Waterflow: 85.3% of its 941 buildings, versus 14.7% Indirect and 0% Minimal. Clearing space around a structure changes the outcome here more than any single building-material swap.
Waterflow against the rest of the country
Waterflow ranks lower within New Mexico (21st percentile statewide) than its 54th national percentile suggests alone — a calmer spot in a state where wildfire risk generally runs high. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Waterflow ranks 14,473 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 12,385 by building count (1 is largest). Within New Mexico alone, it ranks 392 of 495 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for New Mexico on its state page.
Waterflow and the insurance market
Waterflow's elevated wildfire rating (54th percentile) isn't the kind of score driving the carrier pullback making news in the highest-risk Western markets — but a standard homeowners quote is still worth comparing on its own terms.
What would actually reduce this score
With 85.3% of Waterflow 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
Waterflow's 54th-percentile score and its burn-probability figure both come from the same USFS workbook, documented in the methodology guide. For more on what direct exposure implies beyond Waterflow, see the exposure-zones guide.