East Tawas, MI
East Tawas wildfire risk explained
USFS scores East Tawas at the 47th national percentile for wildfire risk to structures (modestly above the national average for wildfire risk), a figure built from 1,933 real buildings rather than raw vegetation cover. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Separately from the risk score above, East Tawas's burn probability — fire likelihood with no building count factored in — sits at the 47th percentile nationally.
What "at risk" means for the buildings here
Indirect exposure is dominant in East Tawas (67.6% of 1,933 buildings): far enough from burnable vegetation to avoid flame contact, close enough for wind-blown embers. Only 29.8% sit in the Direct zone.
How East Tawas compares
Compare East Tawas's two percentiles: 94th within Michigan, only 47th nationally — a gap of 47 points that marks it as unusually exposed for its own state. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, East Tawas ranks 16,825 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 7,670 by building count (1 is largest). Within Michigan alone, it ranks 45 of 745 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Michigan on its state page.
East Tawas and the insurance market
East Tawas's elevated wildfire rating (47th percentile) isn't the kind of score driving the carrier pullback making news in the highest-risk Western markets — but a standard homeowners quote is still worth comparing on its own terms.
Hardening a home in East Tawas
With ember exposure the dominant pattern in East Tawas (67.6% Indirect), vent screens and roofing material tend to matter more than lot clearing alone. The home-hardening guide covers both.
More on how this number was built
East Tawas's 47th-percentile score and its burn-probability figure both come from the same USFS workbook, documented in the methodology guide. For more on what indirect exposure implies beyond East Tawas, see the exposure-zones guide.