CoreLogic has just recently released a report that gives us information on the top states in the US that have homes with the most risk for wildfire damage. The data is based on wildfire acreage that burned in 2018. The top states on the list right now are California, Nevada, Oregon, Oklahoma, and Idaho, though there are many other states on the list, including Texas, Colorado, Utah, Washington, Alaska, New Mexico, Wyoming, Arizona, Florida, and Montana.

The top 5 states have places where homes are most likely to be destroyed during an eventful wildfire. Most of these homes are either in or adjacent to high-risk fuel areas in which serious wildfires occur.

When it comes to the actual number of residences burned with the need for reconstruction, California and Texas are at the top of the list. This is mostly due to the fact that they are larger in geographic size, as well as population size.

 

 

California Wildfires

It is no surprise that California tops the list with a large portion of the highest-risk 15 regions. These regions include Los Angeles, San Diego, and Riverside’s metropolitan areas. More than 42% of the population of California lives within these regions, and more than 51% of the overall reconstruction value goes to this group.

After those metropolitan cities comes Sacramento, CA, Austin, TX, San Francisco, CA, Oxnard, CA, and Colorado Springs, CO, followed by a long list of others.

 

 

Record-Breaking Fires

The 2018 report broke some records when it came to acreage burned throughout the entire country, which equaled 8,767,492 acres, a number that equates to about 74 of the United States’ largest cities combined. In California, 2017 and 2018 wildfires caused more property damage than the state had ever seen in two back-to-back years.

 

 

How Do These Wildfires Occur?

The EPA classifies wildfires as “natural disasters”, though most of us are smart enough to know that only around 15% of major wildfires start due to natural causes. The majority of wildfires occur due to human causes. These causes include everything from unattended campfire debris to lit cigarettes to arson and beyond.

As these factors continue to be responsible for present wildfires, many believe that they are indicators for the same type of destruction in the future if we do not stop them now.

 

 

Conclusion

There is no question that wildfires can cause emotional distress for many people who are affected by them. This is especially true for those people that end up losing their homes during these disasters. Homeowners that are impacted by these fires will, at best, have to take a settlement and try to relocate. Unfortunately, this is sometimes impossible for people who are completely integrated in their communities. This scenario is especially true for those who don’t receive large settlements from their carriers.

The only thing that we can do is learn how to prevent wildfires, just like Smokey the Bear has taught us for many years. In doing so, we can help to protect the millions of families nationwide who deal with the repercussions of them.