Palmer, TN
Palmer wildfire risk explained
Palmer's 471 buildings earn a 84th-percentile wildfire-risk score nationally under USFS's model — in USFS's highest wildfire-risk band nationally. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
USFS's separate burn-probability score — fire likelihood alone, before counting what's built there — puts Palmer at the 87th percentile, close to its 84th-percentile risk score.
What "at risk" means for the buildings here
USFS classifies 93% of Palmer's buildings as Direct exposure, higher than its 7% Indirect share and far above its 0% Minimal share — a profile where 438 structures sit close enough to vegetation that lot clearing matters most.
Where Palmer ranks
Palmer scores 84th nationally and 94th within Tennessee — close enough that its state context doesn't change the picture the national number already gives. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Palmer ranks 4,991 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 17,863 by building count (1 is largest). Within Tennessee alone, it ranks 30 of 502 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Tennessee on its state page.
What this risk score means for insurance
Palmer's very high rating (84th percentile) puts it among the places where the national carrier-pullback trend is most relevant — not a guarantee of a coverage problem, but a reason to shop rather than assume.
What would actually reduce this score
Palmer's 93% Direct-exposure share means lot clearing around the structure typically outweighs any single material upgrade here. The home-hardening guide ranks the options for a place shaped like this.
Where Palmer's figures come from
The methodology guide shows exactly how USFS turned 471 counted buildings into the percentiles shown above for Palmer. The exposure-zones guide covers what Palmer's dominant direct exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.