Jun. 13—Some years ago, Michael Dunn was happy to inherit from his parents a fixer-upper home in rural Santa Fe County with a “$2 million view.”

But then he lost his USAA home insurance and couldn’t find another insurer.

Dunn suffered through at least 15 years on the New Mexico FAIR Plan — a state-backed insurance plan of last resort, which covered “virtually nothing,” he said — until he and his wife decided to invest in major upgrades to harden their home against fire.

More than $60,000 later, the couple’s main and guest houses now have metal roofs and much of the vegetation has been cleared around their home. Dunn recently walked a USAA insurance agent through the changes and regained a policy.

“We’ve done everything we can,” he said, and “we’ve had, I hope, a happy outcome of our situation.”

Dunn’s experience offered some hope to about 15 county residents who attended an informal community meeting Wednesday evening hosted by County Commissioner Anna Hamilton to discuss retaining home insurance in face of wildfire risks.

A handful of county fire department leaders and County Commission candidate Adam Johnson — who is almost certain to succeed Hamilton after the November general election, where he is running unopposed — also spoke to people at the meeting.

Local leaders have received an influx of calls and concerns about home insurers dropping policies around Santa Fe in the past several months, Hamilton said.

The extent of the problem is unknown but has reached the point at which the county may want to conduct a study to define its scope, Hamilton said. Hondo Fire District Chief Clark Thomas, who hosted the meeting at the Hondo Fire Station, estimated his department has received three or four calls per month from people who have either had to negotiate with insurance companies to maintain coverage or shop around for a new insurer.

While Santa Fe County is limited in its ability to help people and neighborhoods prepare for fire, it can be a source of information for communities wanting to become better prepared, Hamilton said in response to questions Wednesday.

That could mean simply lending legitimacy to people motivated to assemble their neighbors to reduce fuels and create defensible space around homes, Hamilton, Johnson and Fire Department leaders said. Some attendees said they already have organized or plan to organize community cleanups.

“If you’re trying to put together a group, we’ll happily come and tell you the stories that will encourage you,” Thomas said with a smile.

“We can tell you the difference in what happens if you’re taking care of your defensible space and if you’re not,” he continued. “Once you start to get a handle on how fire moves, these suggestions really make sense.”

Otherwise, fire districts countywide are working to maintain favorable Insurance Services Office ratings, metrics some insurance companies use to categorize a community’s level of fire preparedness, said county Fire Marshal and Assistant Chief Jaome Blay. The ratings take into account factors such as local firefighting equipment and abilities, available water supply and fire prevention, he said.

Anecdotally, it appears some insurance companies are “randomly” dropping policies due to losses during the 2022 Hermits Peak/Calf Canyon Fire, Blay added.

“I’m going to be very upfront: We have no control over insurance companies. They have their own algorithms. They have their own risk portfolio where they determine what they need to do, and we have absolutely no control over that,” he said.

Sometimes there seems to be “no rhyme or reason” for companies dropping insurance policies, Blay continued — but “reducing fuels and [creating] defensible space are absolutely the number one things you can do to save yourself, your family and your home.”