Wide Ruins, AZ
How exposed is Wide Ruins to wildfire?
USFS scores Wide Ruins at the 52nd national percentile for wildfire risk to structures (modestly above the national average for wildfire risk), a figure built from 47 real buildings rather than raw vegetation cover. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Separately from the risk score above, Wide Ruins's burn probability — fire likelihood with no building count factored in — sits at the 46th percentile nationally.
What "at risk" means for the buildings here
100% of Wide Ruins's 47 buildings sit in USFS's Direct exposure zone, roughly 47 structures close enough to burnable vegetation for flame contact, not just embers — 0% fall in the Indirect, ember-only zone and 0% are Minimal.
Wide Ruins against the rest of the country
Wide Ruins ranks lower within Arizona (20th percentile statewide) than its 52nd national percentile suggests alone — a calmer spot in a state where wildfire risk generally runs high. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Wide Ruins ranks 15,115 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 30,992 by building count (1 is largest). Within Arizona alone, it ranks 353 of 441 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Arizona on its state page.
What this risk score means for insurance
Wide Ruins's elevated wildfire rating (52nd 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
Because Direct exposure dominates in Wide Ruins (100%), the highest-leverage fix is defensible space, not roofing or vents alone — covered in the home-hardening guide.
Where Wide Ruins's figures come from
Every one of the two percentiles behind Wide Ruins's 15,115-place national rank traces to USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities dataset — see the methodology guide. The exposure-zones guide covers what Wide Ruins's dominant direct exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.