---
title: "Wildfire Risk in Cochise County, Arizona 2026 | Satelife"
description: "Wildfire risk in Cochise County spans a wide range across the places we scored. The lowest overall score is 26.2 in Douglas, while the highest is 84.3 in Sierra Vista Estates. The middle point is 55.2, so many locations sit in a moderate-to-high band rather than at either extreme."
image: "https://satelife.ai/images/wildfire-risk/arizona/cochise-county/generated/cochise-county-locator.webp"
canonical: "https://satelife.ai/wildfire-risk/arizona/cochise-county/"
---

[Home](/)›[Wildfire Risk](/wildfire-risk/)›[Arizona](/wildfire-risk/arizona/)›Cochise County

Cochise County, Arizona

# Wildfire risk in Cochise County: _where it is highest_, and why

Wildfire risk in Cochise County spans a wide range across the places we scored. The lowest overall score is 26.2 in Douglas, while the highest is 84.3 in Sierra Vista Estates. The middle point is 55.2, so many locations sit in a moderate-to-high band rather than at either extreme.

[Score my Cochise County address →](#score-my-address) [How risky is this county? ↓](#risk-at-a-glance)

Before 20002000s2010s2020sCommunity

Cochise County — the largest fires on record, at their perimeter centres, with the county’s main communities. Select a marker for its detail.

At a glance

## Half of Cochise County scores _High_ or worse

We scored 166 points across Cochise County on the same 0–100 scale a Satelife address report uses, and they do not land in one place. 4% of them come out Very High, while 20% are Moderate. Which end your own parcel sits at is not something a county map can tell you.

75%

20%

**Very High** 4% · 7 of 166 points **High** 75% · 125 of 166 points **Moderate** 20% · 34 of 166 points

Safest end we measured 26.2 near Douglas · Moderate

Middle of the county 55.2 High — half of Cochise County is above this

Most exposed end we measured 84.3 near Sierra Vista Estates · Very High

### And the federal models agree it is a fire county

Relatively High FEMA National Risk Index — wildfire risk rating · index score 99.2 / 100

$19.4M / yr FEMA NRI — expected annual loss from wildfire · rated Relatively High

1.05% USFS Wildfire Risk to Communities — mean annual burn probability · 90th-percentile cell 1.95%

4.76 ft USFS WRC — mean conditional flame length · 88% of the county carries burnable fuel

FEMA NRI also rates Cochise County: all-hazards risk Relatively Moderate · social vulnerability Relatively High · community resilience Very Low · annualised wildfire frequency 0.0089.

Sources: FEMA National Risk Index 1.20.0 (Dec 2025), county record · USFS Wildfire Risk to Communities v2.0, mean of the grid cells inside the county. Both describe the county as a whole, never an address in it.

What does your Cochise County address score?

A county range shows the spread. Your parcel sits somewhere inside it — the report says where, and what to do about it.

Free to request · PDF report with a 0–100 score, the drivers behind it, and a mitigation plan

Local context

## What the data says about _Cochise County_

Most scored locations fall in the High tier, with 125 points there. Moderate has 34 points, and Very High has 7 points. None of the scored points fell in the Low tier.

For county-wide context, FEMA’s National Risk Index rates Cochise County’s wildfire risk as "Relatively High" and its wildfire expected annual loss as "Relatively High." In the USFS Wildfire Risk to Communities product, mean annual burn probability is 1.05%, with 1.95% at the 90th-percentile cell.

Fire record

## Where the fires _actually were_

Since 1984, 742,352 acres have burned in Cochise County, and that equals 18.7% of the county. The county record also shows 273 fire perimeters over that period.

The largest fire listed is Horseshoe 2 (2011), at 222,990 acres. Another major fire in the county record is Monument (2011), at 32,074 acres.

The most recent large fire entry is listed as Unknown (9999).

![Horseshoe 2 Fire (2011) in Cochise County, Arizona - This astronaut photograph illustrates the area (approximately 8,900 hectares, or 22,110 acres) and position of the Horseshoe 2 fir](/images/wildfire-risk/arizona/cochise-county/photos/horseshoe-2-fire-arizona.webp)

**Horseshoe 2 Fire, 2011** — Cochise County. Photo: ISS Expedition 27 crew · [Public domain](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Horseshoe_2_Fire,_Arizona.JPG)

![Monument Fire (2011) in Cochise County, Arizona - 2nd Lt. Maram Sweis, Arizona Army National Guard medical operations officer, and Benny Fate, Kayenta Hospital head of security, di](/images/wildfire-risk/arizona/cochise-county/photos/arizona-national-guard-49724557023.webp)

**Monument Fire, 2011** — Cochise County. Photo: The National Guard · [Public domain](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Arizona_National_Guard_-_49724557023.jpg)

273 mapped fire perimeters centred in the county since 1984

742,352 acres inside those perimeters since 1984

18.7% of the county's area, as a share of 16,042.3 km²

Unknown 9999 most recent large fire on record

Before 20002000s2010s2020s 

Fire perimeters coloured by decade. Select a perimeter for its name, year and size.

Named fires on record

-   **Horseshoe 2 Fire**2011222,990 acres
-   **Horseshoe2 Fire**2011222,954 acres
-   **Monument Fire**201132,074 acres
-   **Lizard Fire**201715,230 acres
-   **Hog Fire**200916,750 acres
-   **Walnut Fire**202110,660 acres
-   **Swisshelms Fire**201710,954 acres
-   **Rattlesnake Fire**199425,147 acres

Perimeter sources: NIFC Interagency Fire Perimeter History · WFIGS Interagency Perimeters · largest on record: Horseshoe 2 2011. Perimeters are simplified for display; acreage is the figure the source records.

Communities

## Where in the county you are _matters most_

Among named communities, the higher overall scores include Miracle Valley at 77.4, Huachuca City at 74.8, and Nicksville at 73.6.

On the lower end, Douglas is 38.9 and San Simon is 41.8, while Sierra Vista is closer to the county middle at 56.5. That spread shows why two towns in the same county can still face different wildfire risk conditions.

Miracle Valley village

77.4 _Very High_

Huachuca City village · 1,626 people

74.8 _High_

Nicksville village

73.6 _High_

Sierra Vista Estates village

69.7 _High_

Tombstone village · 1,571 people

62 _High_

Bisbee town

61.7 _High_

Benson town

60.4 _High_

Willcox town · 3,769 people

59 _High_

Sierra Vista city · 45,308 people

56.5 _High_

Bowie village · 449 people

56.4 _High_

6 more communities in Cochise County

McNeal village

54.2 _High_

Pirtleville village · 1,550 people

53.8 _High_

Whetstone village · 3,236 people

51.7 _High_

Naco village

50.3 _High_

San Simon village · 165 people

41.8 _Moderate_

Douglas town · 16,534 people

38.9 _Moderate_

The score is the median of the sampled points nearest that community — a community-scale indicator, not a score for any individual property in it. Population comes from the community's own record where the source carries one.

Terrain & fuels

## Terrain, vegetation and _fuels_

Fire weather was not measured at all in the county results shown here.

What was measured does show terrain differences: terrain scores run from 55.0 near Nicksville to 65.0 at Naco, with the middle value at 65.0.

Vegetation and fuels vary more. Scores go from 20.0 in Douglas to 80.0 near Douglas, and the middle value is 73.1. In practical terms, fuels are one of the stronger contributors to why nearby places can have different wildfire risk.

65 median terrain score (max 65 near Naco)

73.1 median vegetation & fuels score (max 80 near Douglas)

Fire weather

## Fire weather across _Cochise County_

Fire weather was not measured at the sampled points in Cochise County. The other four indicators on this page were, and the bars below show what they found.

What drives it

## Which part of the risk _moves_, and which doesn't

Risk is not uniform across Cochise County. In the places scored, Douglas is at the low end with 26.2, while Sierra Vista Estates is at the high end with 84.3.

Hazard-zone scores also vary sharply by location, from 10.0 near Nicksville to 95.4 in Sierra Vista Estates. The middle hazard-zone value is 49.6.

Fire-history scores show a similar spread: 5.0 in Naco and 95.0 near Nicksville, with a middle value of 30.0.

Each bar is what one part of the score covers across Cochise County, on the same 0–100 scale. A long bar is a part of the risk that depends on where you are; a short one is the same almost everywhere.

Terrain

55–65 highest near Naco

Vegetation & fuels

20–80 highest near Douglas

Hazard zone

10–95.4 highest near Sierra Vista Estates

Fire history

5–95 highest near Nicksville

Overall score

26.2–84.3 highest near Sierra Vista Estates

The tick on each bar is the middle value. Tier boundaries — Moderate at 25, High at 50, Very High at 75 — are the faint lines behind them.

Show every number behind these bars

Layer

Min

Median

Max

Lowest place

Highest place

Points

Terrain

55

65

65

near Nicksville

Naco

166

Vegetation & fuels

20

73.1

80

Douglas

near Douglas

166

Hazard zone

10

49.6

95.4

near Nicksville

Sierra Vista Estates

166

Fire history

5

30

95

Naco

near Nicksville

166

Composite

26.2

55.2

84.3

Douglas

Sierra Vista Estates

166

Independently of Satelife's layers, the USFS Wildfire Risk to Communities grid puts the county's mean annual burn probability at **1.05%** (90th percentile cell: **1.95%**), with a mean conditional flame length of **4.76 ft**. **88%** of the 39,806 grid cells inside the county carry burnable fuel at all.

Source: USFS Wildfire Risk to Communities v2.0 (ImageServer, county extent).

CAL FIRE has no mapped Fire Hazard Severity Zone at **166** of the 166 sampled points — the zones cover Local Responsibility Areas, and most of this county is state or federal land. At **141** of them the USFS grid above supplied the hazard reading instead; at the remaining 25 the hazard weight is renormalised away rather than scored as low.

166 sample points on a ~2.3 km grid, plus one at the centre of each community, weighted with the Satelife county profile v1 · median layer coverage 90%. Scores are 0–100 and comparable within the county, not across states.

For a property

## What a county range means for _one address_

For property-level context, the USFS Wildfire Risk to Communities product indicates 87.9% of Cochise County can burn. It reports a mean annual burn probability of 1.05% and a mean conditional flame length of 4.76 feet.

County-wide community conditions in FEMA’s National Risk Index are also relevant when comparing properties: social vulnerability is rated "Relatively High" and community resilience is rated "Very Low." FEMA’s all-hazards county rating is "Relatively Moderate."

Across 166 sampled points in Cochise County, the score runs from 26.2 to 84.3 — two neighbouring parcels can sit in different tiers. A county number is the middle of that spread; it says nothing about which end yours is at.

Find out where your Cochise County parcel sits

Slope, the fuel touching the structure, the road out, the fire history within a mile — measured at your address, not averaged across the county.

Free to request · PDF report with a 0–100 score, the drivers behind it, and a mitigation plan

Coverage

## ZIP codes we cover in Cochise County

Every one of the 29 ZIP areas that touch Cochise County — we run address-level reports in all of them. They are grouped by the median score of the points we sampled inside each, which is a neighbourhood-scale indicator and **not** a score for any property: two homes in the same ZIP routinely land in different tiers.

**High** 18 ZIPs

-   [85615 Nicksville74](/wildfire-risk/zip/85615/)
-   [85609 Benson72](/wildfire-risk/zip/85609/)
-   [85650 Sierra Vista Estates70](/wildfire-risk/zip/85650/)
-   [85613 Huachuca City65](/wildfire-risk/zip/85613/)
-   [85606 Willcox63](/wildfire-risk/zip/85606/)
-   [85630 Benson60](/wildfire-risk/zip/85630/)
-   [85638 Tombstone59](/wildfire-risk/zip/85638/)
-   [85602 Benson56](/wildfire-risk/zip/85602/)
-   [85616 Whetstone56](/wildfire-risk/zip/85616/)
-   [85610 McNeal55](/wildfire-risk/zip/85610/)
-   [85607 Douglas55](/wildfire-risk/zip/85607/)
-   [85605 Bowie55](/wildfire-risk/zip/85605/)
-   [85625 McNeal54](/wildfire-risk/zip/85625/)
-   [85635 Sierra Vista53](/wildfire-risk/zip/85635/)
-   [85632 San Simon52](/wildfire-risk/zip/85632/)
-   [85617 McNeal52](/wildfire-risk/zip/85617/)
-   [85643 Willcox52](/wildfire-risk/zip/85643/)
-   [85603 Bisbee50](/wildfire-risk/zip/85603/)

**Moderate** 2 ZIPs

-   [85620 Naco36](/wildfire-risk/zip/85620/)
-   [85626 Pirtleville36](/wildfire-risk/zip/85626/)

**No sampled point inside** 9 ZIPs

[85534](/wildfire-risk/zip/85534/) · [85546](/wildfire-risk/zip/85546/) · [85608 Pirtleville](/wildfire-risk/zip/85608/) · [85611 Whetstone](/wildfire-risk/zip/85611/) · [85624 Huachuca City](/wildfire-risk/zip/85624/) · [85627 Benson](/wildfire-risk/zip/85627/) · [88020](/wildfire-risk/zip/88020/) · [88045](/wildfire-risk/zip/88045/) · [88056](/wildfire-risk/zip/88056/)

Grouped from 20 of 29 ZIP areas — the rest had no sample point fall inside them. The community shown is the nearest mapped place to the ZIP's centre.

ZIP areas are Census 2020 ZIP Code Tabulation Areas intersecting the county boundary.

Where to go next

## Cochise County wildfire risk _in context_

[Arizona wildfire risk The statewide picture and every county page we publish](/wildfire-risk/arizona/) [Wildfire risk by state Every state and county we cover](/wildfire-risk/) [How Satelife calculates wildfire risk Data sources, layers, score composition, honest limits](/wildfire-risk/methodology/) [Create a wildfire evacuation plan Zones, egress routes, refuge areas](/wildfire-evacuation-plan/) [Run a report for a Cochise County address PDF + score + mitigation plan](/#cta)

FAQ

## Frequently asked questions about _Cochise County wildfire risk_

Does Cochise County have any Low-tier wildfire risk areas?

In the places scored here, no points fell in the Low tier. Most points are in High, with smaller counts in Moderate and Very High.

What are the key fires to know in this county?

The largest listed fire is Horseshoe 2 (2011) at 222,990 acres. The most recent large fire entry is shown as Unknown (9999).

Was fire weather included in these county scores?

No. Fire weather was not measured at all in the county results shown here.

Is FEMA’s rating a score for my neighborhood?

No. FEMA’s National Risk Index ratings are county-wide ratings. For Cochise County, FEMA rates wildfire risk as "Relatively High."

This page is generated from a Cochise County data pack assembled on 2026-09-05 (pack v1.0). Scores are sampled across the county, not measured at any individual address, and are informational decision support — not a substitute for official evacuation orders, a fire-agency hazard determination, or an insurer's underwriting judgement. Data versions: fema\_nri 1.20.0 (Dec 2025) · landfire per adapter · nifc\_history All Years View · wfigs current · wrc v2.0 (2024) · zcta Census 2020.

## What does _your parcel_ look like, layer by layer?

A county range shows the spread. An address-level Satelife report shows where in that spread your property actually sits — PDF, per-layer score, and a prioritized mitigation plan.

[Start with your address →](/#cta)

[![PRR](/images/prr.png)](/ficha-de-website-voucher-satelife.pdf)

© 2024–2026 Satelife, Lda. All rights reserved.

Satelife reports are for informational purposes only and do not constitute insurance, financial, or legal advice.
