Thatcher, AZ
How exposed is Thatcher to wildfire?
USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities model puts Thatcher at the 86th national percentile for risk to structures, in USFS's highest wildfire-risk band nationally — a score built from 2,315 actual buildings. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Fire likelihood alone (USFS's burn-probability figure) ranks Thatcher at the 86th national percentile — 0 points below its risk-to-structures score, a gap driven by how much is actually built there.
Thatcher's building exposure, zone by zone
Indirect exposure is dominant in Thatcher (61.3% of 2,315 buildings): far enough from burnable vegetation to avoid flame contact, close enough for wind-blown embers. Only 21% sit in the Direct zone.
Thatcher against the rest of the country
Thatcher ranks lower within Arizona (57th percentile statewide) than its 86th national percentile suggests alone — a calmer spot in a state where wildfire risk generally runs high. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Thatcher ranks 4,401 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 6,668 by building count (1 is largest). Within Arizona alone, it ranks 190 of 441 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Arizona on its state page.
Thatcher and the insurance market
Thatcher's very high rating (86th 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
With ember exposure the dominant pattern in Thatcher (61.3% 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
Every one of the two percentiles behind Thatcher's 4,401-place national rank traces to USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities dataset — see the methodology guide. For more on what indirect exposure implies beyond Thatcher, see the exposure-zones guide.