Photo: Greg Goebel · CC BY-SA 2.0More hazard damage per building is expected in Air Force Academy than in 92% of U.S. towns, mostly from wildfire
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Air Force Academy gets a D for hazard risk: higher expected damage per building than 92% of U.S. towns, #149 of 159 in Colorado. Most of that expected damage is wildfire (76%), then river and rain flooding (16%). FEMA’s files show no paid flood insurance claims here.
Graded on FEMA’s expected yearly building damage per dollar of building value (NRI v1.20, December 2025), weighted by where residents live; flood claims are shown, not graded. How hazard risk is graded
What Air Force Academy faces
Each hazard’s share of the building damage FEMA expects here, and how its rate compares with the rest of the country.
Wildfire
River and rain flooding
Shares are of FEMA’s expected building damage, the measure the grade uses; ranks compare each hazard’s building-damage rate with all 85,154 U.S. census tracts. In FEMA’s terms, river and rain flooding is FEMA’s “Inland Flooding” (rivers and streams overflowing their banks, or rain overwhelming drainage). FEMA defines coastal flooding as high or rising tides and storm surge, so surge damage is counted there. Drought isn’t listed: FEMA counts its losses in crops only.
What’s behind Air Force Academy’s grade
Wildfire is 76% of the building damage FEMA expects in Air Force Academy, and Air Force Academy’s rate of wildfire damage is in the top 1% of U.S. census tracts. Hail adds 5%, at a rate in the top 7% of U.S. census tracts.
D #149 of 159 in Colorado; higher expected damage per building than 92% of U.S. towns (21,298).
Air Force Academy’s residents live in 2 census tracts; FEMA’s figures are combined by where they live.
The typical Colorado town has higher expected damage than 56% of U.S. towns; within the state, Air Force Academy has more expected damage per building than 94% of Colorado towns.
In dollars, FEMA expects about $3.5M a year in losses across Air Force Academy: $2.6M to buildings, the rest to people and crops.
Does Air Force Academy flood? No paid flood claims on record
FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Air Force Academy. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.
Air Force Academy isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: El Paso County.The storms Air Force Academy remembers
None of the 14 disasters declared for El Paso County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Air Force Academy itself in FEMA’s records, so these are its biggest flood-claim years.
El Paso County has had 14 natural disasters declared by the President since 1953, most often floods, then severe storms. Not counted: the 2005 Hurricane Katrina evacuee emergency, which covered counties that took in evacuees.
Also 2 FEMA wildfire suppression grants (Fire Management Assistance, not a disaster declaration) for fires in El Paso County, 2012–2013.
Get ready for what Air Force Academy faces
A short kit for the hazards that drive the building damage here, what to check before you buy, and where neighbors get alerts.
- Clear dead leaves and brush within 5 feet of the house.
- Sign up for local alerts and know two ways out.
- Keep N95 masks for smoky days.
- Turn around at flooded roads: a foot of moving water can carry off a car.
- Flood insurance usually takes 30 days to start, so buy it before the forecast.
- Keep papers and medicines up high, in a grab-and-go bag.
- Look up the address on FEMA’s flood map.
- Ask the seller or landlord whether it has ever flooded, and what flood insurance costs there.
- Get a flood insurance quote early: policies usually start 30 days after you buy.
Know where neighbors sign up for alerts? Add it to the Handbook so everyone has it.
Questions about natural hazards in Air Force Academy
Is Air Force Academy at risk for natural disasters?
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Air Force Academy has higher expected damage per building than 92% of U.S. towns: D for hazard risk, #149 of 159 in Colorado. Most of the expected damage is wildfire (76%) and river and rain flooding (16%). This is FEMA’s model of an average year for today’s buildings, not a forecast.
Is Air Force Academy in a flood zone?
Flood zones are drawn street by street, so the answer depends on the address: look it up on FEMA’s flood map. In El Paso County, 27% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 0.5% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in Air Force Academy?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Air Force Academy’s flood program. Premiums depend on the building; policies usually start 30 days after you buy, so get a quote early.
Is Air Force Academy at risk from wildfire?
It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (76%), and Air Force Academy’s rate for it is in the top 1% of U.S. census tracts.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Air Force Academy.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Air Force Academy’s residents lived in the 2020 census; OpenFEMA: NFIP redacted claims, multiple-loss properties, community status book and residential penetration rates, housing assistance (owners and renters), public assistance funded projects, hazard mitigation properties and disaster declarations. Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. Preparedness tips: Ready.gov. FEMA’s model is an average of expected damage, not a forecast. How hazard risk is graded.