Tularosa, NM
Tularosa, NM's wildfire risk, in USFS's own numbers
USFS scores Tularosa at the 60th national percentile for wildfire risk to structures (modestly above the national average for wildfire risk), a figure built from 1,836 real buildings rather than raw vegetation cover. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Separately from the risk score above, Tularosa's burn probability — fire likelihood with no building count factored in — sits at the 58th percentile nationally.
What "at risk" means for the buildings here
USFS puts 63.1% of Tularosa's 1,836 buildings in the Indirect exposure zone, versus 36.9% Direct and 0% Minimal — a place where the fire doesn't need to reach the structure directly for embers to.
Tularosa against the rest of the country
Tularosa's 60th national percentile looks worse in isolation than its 30th ranking inside New Mexico does — this place is on the milder end for its own state, by 30 points. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Tularosa ranks 12,613 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 7,959 by building count (1 is largest). Within New Mexico alone, it ranks 345 of 495 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for New Mexico on its state page.
Shopping for coverage in Tularosa
Tularosa's elevated wildfire rating (60th 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 Tularosa
With ember exposure the dominant pattern in Tularosa (63.1% Indirect), vent screens and roofing material tend to matter more than lot clearing alone. The home-hardening guide covers both.
Where Tularosa's figures come from
Tularosa's 60th-percentile score and its burn-probability figure both come from the same USFS workbook, documented in the methodology guide. The exposure-zones guide covers what Tularosa's dominant indirect exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.