Tatum, NM
How exposed is Tatum to wildfire?
Out of every US place USFS scores, Tatum lands at the 97th percentile for wildfire risk to structures — in USFS's highest wildfire-risk band nationally — a figure built from its 628 buildings, not the land around them. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Fire likelihood alone (USFS's burn-probability figure) ranks Tatum at the 98th national percentile — 2 points above its risk-to-structures score, a gap driven by how much is actually built there.
Where Tatum's buildings actually sit
68% of Tatum's 628 buildings fall in USFS's Indirect exposure zone — ember cast rather than direct flame — against 32% Direct and 0% Minimal. Vent screens and roofing material matter more here than lot clearing alone.
Tatum against the rest of the country
Tatum scores 97th nationally and 90th within New Mexico — close enough that its state context doesn't change the picture the national number already gives. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Tatum ranks 1,045 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 15,471 by building count (1 is largest). Within New Mexico alone, it ranks 54 of 495 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for New Mexico on its state page.
What this risk score means for insurance
Tatum's very high rating (97th 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.
Hardening a home in Tatum
Because 68% of Tatum's buildings sit in the Indirect zone, sealing the ember pathway (vents, roofing, gutters) is the intervention this page's data actually supports — see the home-hardening guide.
Where Tatum's figures come from
Every one of the two percentiles behind Tatum's 1,045-place national rank traces to USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities dataset — see the methodology guide. The exposure-zones guide covers what Tatum's dominant indirect exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.