Photo: Davishan99 · CC BY-SA 3.0FEMA puts Angel Fire’s expected hazard damage per building above that of 92% of U.S. towns, mostly from wildfire
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Angel Fire gets a D for hazard risk: higher expected damage per building than 92% of U.S. towns. Most of that expected damage is wildfire (56%), then river and rain flooding (41%). 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 Angel Fire 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 Angel Fire’s grade
Wildfire is 56% of the building damage FEMA expects in Angel Fire, and Angel Fire’s rate of wildfire damage is in the top 1% of U.S. census tracts. Next is river and rain flooding at 41% (higher than 77% of U.S. census tracts).
D higher expected damage per building than 92% of U.S. towns (21,298).
All of Angel Fire’s residents live in one census tract; the figures are that tract’s.
In dollars, FEMA expects about $2.0M a year in losses across Angel Fire: $1.8M to buildings, the rest to people and crops.
Does Angel Fire flood? No paid flood claims on record
FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Angel Fire. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.
Angel Fire isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Colfax County.1 federal disaster brought FEMA money to Angel Fire
Disasters that paid out in Angel Fire itself (aid to households or repair grants to the Village of Angel Fire), newest first, with that year’s flood claims.
- 2022Wildfires, Straight-line Winds, Flooding, Mudflows, and Debris Flows37 households applied for aid$45K aid approved$518K to the Village of Angel Fire for repairs
Colfax County has had 8 natural disasters declared by the President since 1953, most often severe storms, then floods. Not counted: the 2005 Hurricane Katrina evacuee emergency, which covered counties that took in evacuees.
Also 7 FEMA wildfire suppression grants (Fire Management Assistance, not a disaster declaration) for fires in Colfax County, 2002–2022.
Old photos of Angel Fire after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Angel Fire archive →Get ready for what Angel Fire 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 Angel Fire
Is Angel Fire at risk for natural disasters?
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Angel Fire has higher expected damage per building than 92% of U.S. towns: D for hazard risk. Most of the expected damage is wildfire (56%) and river and rain flooding (41%). The figures are for the one census tract the town shares with its neighbors. This is FEMA’s model of an average year for today’s buildings, not a forecast.
Is Angel Fire 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 Colfax County, 7% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 0.3% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in Angel Fire?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Angel Fire’s flood program. Premiums depend on the building; policies usually start 30 days after you buy, so get a quote early.
What was the biggest storm in Angel Fire?
By FEMA money that reached Angel Fire, Wildfires, Straight-line Winds, Flooding, Mudflows, and Debris Flows (2022): 37 households applied for aid, $45K approved, and $518K to the Village of Angel Fire for repairs.
Is Angel Fire at risk from wildfire?
It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (56%), and Angel Fire’s rate for it is in the top 1% of U.S. census tracts.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Angel Fire.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Angel Fire’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.