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Tularosa, New Mexico

13 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1916 and the latest in 1982. It stands in the Tularosa census division. It lies in ZIP code area 88352. It lies in Tularosa Canyon. The Survey maps it on the Tularosa quadrangle. 2,553 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 4,508 feet above sea level.

Tularosa within Otero County

On record in Tularosa

Buildings and businesses the archive holds for this place. Each opens its own page, with the source record it came from.

On the National Register 1 record

Population over time

3 figures

Tularosa fell from 2,864 to 2,553 between 2000 and 2020. These are the recorded population figures Wikidata holds for this place, reached through the Geographic Names Information System number this page is keyed on rather than by name, so they belong to this place and not to another of the same name. Most are census counts, but not all are: an early figure may be a founding or settlement estimate, and an estimate published within five years of a census is left out. The change column is computed, and is left blank where more than 20 years separate a figure from the one before it, because a gap that long is not a change between two counts.

YearPeople Change
20002,864
20102,842-22 (-1%)
20202,553-289 (-10%)

Topographic sheets covering this place

7 surveys from 13 printed sheets

Matched by testing this settlement's coordinate against the published boundary of every sheet in the United States Geological Survey's historical collection. Each opens the scanned sheet at the Survey.

Fires near this place

24 since 1993

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 24 fires within 5 miles of Tularosa between 1993 and 2018, burning about 100 acres in total. 1 started naturally. 1 was recorded as arson. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a fire counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.

Reported cause Fires
Equipment and vehicle use8
Missing data/not specified/undetermined7
Debris and open burning5
Smoking1
Arson/incendiarism1
Natural1
Recreation and ceremony1

The most recent of them, most recent first, with the day each was reported and the service that recorded it.

DateCause SizeReported by Name on the report
17 July 2016Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreCapitan DistrictRAILROAD PECAN
17 July 2010Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreLas Cruces Field OfficeROAD
1 July 2013Equipment and vehicle useunder an acreNew Mexico State Forestry DivisionBRUSH
3 June 2011Equipment and vehicle use1.5 acresNew Mexico State Forestry DivisionVIRDEN WEST
28 June 2010Natural25 acresLas Cruces Field OfficeVIRDEN
25 June 2009Equipment and vehicle use5.0 acresNew Mexico State Forestry DivisionMONEY
25 June 1994Missing data/not specified/undetermined5.0 acresNew Mexico State Forestry DivisionFIRECRACKER
2 June 2009Arson/incendiarism21 acresNew Mexico State Forestry DivisionPRAIRIE TRAIL

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Otero County

Mines and quarries near this place

2 within 5 miles

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 2 workings within 5 miles of Tularosa: 2 unknowns. None of them still produces. What was taken out: Sand and Gravel, Construction. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a quarry counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.

Where SiteCommodity StatusRecorded
State Hwy Pit No. 57-38-SSand and Gravel, ConstructionUnknown
State Hwy Pit No. 58-103-SSand and Gravel, ConstructionUnknown

Every working recorded in Otero County

Storms near this place

28 since 1999

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Tularosa in 28 storm reports between 1999 and 2025: 12 thunderstorm wind, 8 hail, 7 flash flood, 1 heavy rain. No death or injury is recorded in these reports. Each account below is quoted exactly as the forecast office filed it, from the NOAA Storm Events Database, and each date opens the federal record of that event.

WhenEvent Place namedHarm What the report says
May 2008HailTularosa$2,500,000Hail from quarter to golf ball size, with occasional hail stones the size of tennis balls accumulated to about 3 inches in the Tularosa area. The hail was driven by wind gusts up to 80 mph, and broke windows, damaged roofs and sidings to more than 500 homes in Tularosa.
May 2008Thunderstorm WindTularosa$360,000A wet microburst estimated at 80 mph destroyed a double wide mobile home, flipped several others, unroofed a few homes, and blew down several trees, power poles and power lines.
September 2025Thunderstorm WindTularosa$5,000The White Sands Missile Range site at Tula recorded a peak gust of 78 mph. Another site at the Tula Airstrip recorded a peak gust of 73 mph but could have been higher as comms were cut-off prior to storms arrival. The tower was bent by winds about 30 degrees.
August 2015Thunderstorm WindTularosa$500Winds blew a fence down in Tularosa. An inch of rain also fell in about 20 minutes with the storm.
June 2025Flash FloodTularosa-White Sands Missile Range personnel reported flooding around the intersection of Range Route 6 and 9 with roads impassable in places.
July 2025Thunderstorm WindTularosa-The Rita Mesonet site on the White Sands Missile Range recorded a peak gust of 61 mph.
July 2025Thunderstorm WindTularosa-The Tula Mesonet site on the White Sands Missile Range recorded a peak gust of 62 mph.
July 2025Flash FloodTularosa-Flash flooding was reported on Tularosa Creek above Bridal Falls. Debris-laden flow flooded backyards. Crosscreek Road low water crossing dangerously flooded.
July 2025Flash FloodTularosa-Flash flooding started near Bent with arroyo flooding on Mauer Drive. An arroyo bank was cut with edge of embankment moved 14 feet closer to a home. There was also culvert and road damage along Round Mountain Road. Further west, flash flooding was noted along Tularosa Creek above Bridal Falls. Flooding extended into into a backyard and crawl space of a house with an artificial pond washed out about 4 miles east of Tularosa.
September 2025HailTularosa-One inch hail reported 4 miles east of Tularosa.
July 2024Thunderstorm WindTularosa-The White Sands Missile Range station 28(Tula) reported a peak wind gust of 66 mph. Station 25, also on the missile range reported a peak gust of 58 mph.
August 2022Flash FloodTularosa-A spotter posted a photo of their property flooding with an estimated water depth of 6 inches at it's crest.
June 2022Thunderstorm WindTularosa-Reported at Tula Mesonet site on the White Sands Missile Range.
June 2022Thunderstorm WindTularosa-Recorded at the Salt Creek Mesonet site on the White Sands Missile Range.
July 2021Thunderstorm WindTularosa-Mesonet station on White Sands Missile Range.
August 2020Thunderstorm WindTularosa-Storm moved south across the White Sands Missile Range.
June 2019Thunderstorm WindTularosa-A White Sands Missile Range site located 9 miles west of Tularosa recorded a 60 mph gust.
April 2017HailTularosa-Hail damage was reported to vehicle windshields on Highway 54 around mile marker 76.
April 2017Flash FloodTularosa-Submerged vehicle reported in low water crossing just northwest of Tularosa on Railroad Avenue in a low water crossing.
July 2015Flash FloodTularosa-Water was crossing Riata Road west of U.S. 54. Rain had fallen several hours earlier up near La Luz and flowed down toward Alamogordo.
September 2014Flash FloodTularosa-Flash flooding was reported around the Riata Road area west of Tularosa where water was crossing the road. Drainage ditches along Highway 54 were also filling up.
May 2012HailTularosa-Up to half dollar size hail was reported just northeast of Tularosa.
July 2012Heavy RainTularosa-A weather spotter from Tularosa, NM reported .50 inches of heavy rain in 30 minutes time. This spotter also recorded a 40 mph thunderstorm wind gust from the thunderstorm that passed over the area.
June 2020Thunderstorm WindTularosa-no account filed
October 2015HailTularosa-no account filed
September 2011HailTularosa-no account filed
May 1999HailTularosa-no account filed
May 1999HailTularosa-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Otero County

Nearest settlements

The eight closest, with where each one stands in the county. Distances are straight-line, computed from the Geographic Names Information System coordinates.

Map PlaceDistance Sheets
Alamorosa4.9 miles9
Kearney6.5 miles12
La Luz7.8 miles12
Bent10.4 miles10
Salinas11.3 miles13
Alamogordo12.4 miles12
High Rolls12.9 miles11
Mountain Park13.3 miles11

Elsewhere

Matched on this settlement's Geographic Names Information System number rather than its name, so it cannot be a different place of the same name in another state.

Wikipedia article on TularosaAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q2653709The structured record the population and elevation above come from. Public domain (CC0).

Provenance

This settlement is recorded in the Geographic Names Information System as feature 899964. The sheet list is computed by point-in-boundary test against the United States Geological Survey's historical topographic inventory. Both are works of the United States government and carry no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.

Wildfire. Short, Karen C. 2022. Spatial wildfire occurrence data for the United States, 1992-2020 [FPA_FOD_20221014]. 6th Edition. Fort Collins, CO: Forest Service Research Data Archive. https://doi.org/10.2737/RDS-2013-0009.6 Collected with United States Government funding and usable without additional permissions or fees.

Mines and quarries. USGS Mineral Resources Data System (MRDS) https://mrdata.usgs.gov/mrds/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.

Storms. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/stormevents/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105. Narratives are quoted verbatim from the National Weather Service report and are not edited or summarised.