Rio Communities, New Mexico
10 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1952 and the latest in 1991. It stands in the Belen census division. It lies in ZIP code area 87002. The Survey maps it on the Tome quadrangle.
Topographic sheets covering this place
6 surveys from 10 printed sheetsMatched by testing this settlement's coordinate against the published boundary of every sheet in the United States Geological Survey's historical collection. Each opens the scanned sheet at the Survey.
- 1952 USGS Tome quadrangle1:24000, 3 printings
- 1954 USGS Socorro quadrangle1:250000, 2 printings
- 1958 USGS Socorro quadrangle1:250000
- 1962 USGS Socorro quadrangle1:250000
- 1979 USGS Belen quadrangle1:100000, 2 printings
- 1991 USGS Tome quadrangle1:24000
Fires near this place
376 since 1992Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 376 fires within 5 miles of Rio Communities between 1992 and 2020, burning about 1,657 acres in total. 6 started naturally. 14 were recorded as arson. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a fire counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.
| Reported cause | Fires |
|---|---|
| Debris and open burning | 172 |
| Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 145 |
| Equipment and vehicle use | 19 |
| Arson/incendiarism | 14 |
| Power generation/transmission/distribution | 8 |
| Smoking | 6 |
| Natural | 6 |
| Misuse of fire by a minor | 2 |
| Railroad operations and maintenance | 1 |
| Fireworks | 1 |
| Recreation and ceremony | 1 |
| Other causes | 1 |
The most recent of them, most recent first, with the day each was reported and the service that recorded it.
| Date | Cause | Size | Reported by | Name on the report |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7 September 2011 | Natural | under an acre | New Mexico State Forestry Division | ANIMAL |
| 14 September 1997 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2.0 acres | New Mexico State Forestry Division | SERAFIN |
| 14 September 1997 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | New Mexico State Forestry Division | ALLSUPS |
| 1 September 2012 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 8.0 acres | New Mexico State Forestry Division | GIANT |
| 7 August 2019 | Equipment and vehicle use | under an acre | Bernalillo District | 20-60380159X |
| 5 August 1992 | Natural | under an acre | Albuquerque District Office | JUG TANK |
| 29 August 1995 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 3.0 acres | New Mexico State Forestry Division | RAIL |
| 23 August 2020 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Bernalillo District | 21-60710236X |
Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:
Mines and quarries near this place
8 within 5 milesRegional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 8 workings within 5 miles of Rio Communities: 7 unknowns, 1 producer. 1 still produces. What was taken out: Sand and Gravel, Construction. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a quarry counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.
| Where | Site | Commodity | Status | Recorded |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Materials Pit 66-1-F | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Unknown | ||
| Materials Pit 57-104-F | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Unknown | ||
| Materials Pit 64-1-S | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Unknown | ||
| Tome Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Producer | Sedimentary | |
| Unnamed Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Unknown | ||
| Unnamed Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Unknown | ||
| Unnamed Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Unknown | ||
| Unnamed Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Unknown |
Storms near this place
5 since 2013Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Rio Communities in 5 storm reports between 2013 and 2025: 2 flash flood, 2 hail, 1 thunderstorm wind. No death or injury is recorded in these reports. Each account below is quoted exactly as the forecast office filed it, from the NOAA Storm Events Database, and each date opens the federal record of that event.
| When | Event | Place named | Harm | What the report says |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| July 2013 | Flash Flood | Rio Communities | $20,000 | Emergency Manager reported water in two homes in Belen near State Roads 47 and 309. |
| June 2025 | Hail | Rio Communities | - | A CoCoRaHS observer reported penny size hail in the Rio Communities from a strong to severe thunderstorm. |
| September 2017 | Hail | Rio Communities | - | Hail up to the size of ping pong balls near Rio Communities. |
| September 2017 | Thunderstorm Wind | Rio Communities | - | Peak wind gust up to 70 mph with severe storm in Rio Communities. |
| September 2017 | Flash Flood | Rio Communities | - | Public reported the streets turned into raging rivers in Rio Communities from a severe thunderstorm. |
Nearest settlements
The eight closest, with where each one stands in the county. Distances are straight-line, computed from the Geographic Names Information System coordinates.
| Map | Place | Distance | Sheets |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rio Grande Estates | 1.2 miles | 10 | |
| Los Trujillos | 1.4 miles | 10 | |
| La Constancia | 2.0 miles | 10 | |
| Belen | 2.4 miles | 10 | |
| Bacaville | 2.5 miles | 10 | |
| Pueblitos | 3.0 miles | 10 | |
| Jarales | 3.0 miles | 10 | |
| Azul | 3.3 miles | 10 |
Provenance
This settlement is recorded in the Geographic Names Information System as feature 2413664. The sheet list is computed by point-in-boundary test against the United States Geological Survey's historical topographic inventory. Both are works of the United States government and carry no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.
Wildfire. Short, Karen C. 2022. Spatial wildfire occurrence data for the United States, 1992-2020 [FPA_FOD_20221014]. 6th Edition. Fort Collins, CO: Forest Service Research Data Archive. https://doi.org/10.2737/RDS-2013-0009.6 Collected with United States Government funding and usable without additional permissions or fees.
Mines and quarries. USGS Mineral Resources Data System (MRDS) https://mrdata.usgs.gov/mrds/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.
Storms. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/stormevents/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105. Narratives are quoted verbatim from the National Weather Service report and are not edited or summarised.





