California metropolitan areas comprise a significant portion of the top 15 regions affected by wildfires.
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A new report released today by data and analytics provider CoreLogic sheds light on the top 15 states with the most homes at risk of wildfire damage.
The 2019 Wildfire Risk Report finds nearly 776,000 homes with an associated reconstruction cost value of more than $221 billion at extreme risk of wildfire damage.
The CoreLogic Wildfire Risk report analyzes homes currently at risk of wildfire damage in the western United States, including Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, New Mexico, Nevada, Oklahoma, Oregon, Texas, Utah, Washington and Wyoming. The report also provides a breakdown of the significant wildfire events of 2017 and 2018.
Homes in the extreme risk category are the most likely to sustain damage or be destroyed during a wildfire event. These homes often are within or immediately adjacent to areas of high-risk fuels in locations where high intensity wildfires have a tendency to recur.
California and Texas lead the United States in the number of residences and reconstruction cost values that are in the high- and extreme-risk categories because of their larger geographic size and large populations. Both states contain fuels and terrain that contribute to higher risk classifications and have population centers near high-risk areas, according to the report.
“Wildfire is a unique peril because the level of damage is often binary – a home is either left untouched by the fire or a total loss occurs,” the report states. “A patchwork of devastation occurs as fires pass by some properties indiscriminately while surrounding homes are reduced to ash. Unlike flooding or hail, it can and often does result in a 100% loss of the structure. Post-event studies have shown that structural hardening increases a home’s resistance to fire, but all too often luck seems to play a part, too.”
California metropolitan areas comprise a significant portion of the top 15 regions with the most homes at risk, with the Los Angeles, Riverside and San Diego metropolitan areas ranking as the top three high-risk areas, respectively. These regions are home to more than 42% of residences at high-to-extreme wildfire risk in the top 15 metros and also claim more than 51% of the total reconstruction cost value in this group.
Following in the ranking are Sacramento, California; Austin, Texas; San Francisco; Denver; Truckee, California; Oxnard, California; Colorado Springs; San Antonio; Santa Fe, New Mexico; Redding, California; Salinas, California; and Houston.
“It’s no surprise that California tops the list of the most homes at high- to-extreme wildfire risk, given the state’s size and population density, as well as the popularity of residential expansion into the wildland urban interface,” said Tom Jeffery, senior hazard scientist at CoreLogic. “The high density of homes located in wildfire-susceptible areas only increases the threat of future catastrophic events and the possibility of billion-dollar losses.”
The report found 2018 was another record-breaking year for the country, with 8,767,492 acres burned—a size roughly equivalent to 74 of the 75 largest cities in the United States combined. This is the sixth-highest total since modern historical records began in the mid-1900s. California, Nevada and Oregon topped the list for most acreage burned in 2018, with a combined total of 3.72 million acres burned in the three states. In California, 2017 and 2018 caused more wildfire-related property damage than the state has experienced in any two consecutive years of its history.
Though wildfires are classified by the Environmental Protection Agency as natural disasters, only 10 to 15 percent of wildfires occur on their own in nature, according to National Geographic. The other 85 to 90 percent of wildfires are a result of human causes, including unattended camp and debris fires, discarded cigarettes and arson.
“The past few years of wildfire activity tell us we’re not only seeing a continuation of the intense fires and associated destruction in the United States, but an escalation of these events,” said Shelly Yerkes, wildfire senior product manager at CoreLogic. “The continuing presence of the factors responsible for recent wildfires are an ominous indicator that the coming years could see more of the same record-breaking destruction.”
“Losing a home can cause significant emotional distress,” said Lisa Lindsay, executive director of the Private Risk Management Association. “The last thing many homeowners want to do is rebuild in the same place where fire destroyed their home,” she said. “They may also have concerns about losing their home again after they rebuild. Many homeowners impacted by fire are ready to make a fresh start and do not want to deal with the hassle of rebuilding.
Lindsay pointed out that rebuilding a home after a devastating wildfire needs to be a choice and not a requirement.
“For some, the quickest way to move on and return to normalcy may be to take a cash settlement and relocate,” she said. “For others, normalcy may mean rebuilding the family home in the neighborhood and community that they call home. I believe the best outcome arises when someone has a choice.”
In most cases, those with a choice are covered by a specialty insurance carrier.
“These carriers often go above and beyond, offering to cover the full cost of rebuilding, providing cash out options for those who do not want to rebuild, as well as providing additional living expenses during the loss,” said Lindsay.
A huge divide exists between a specialty carrier and a standard carrier, Lindsay added. “Many homeowners do not receive the same options or benefits with standard carriers,” she said. “They may not even receive full payment to rebuild their homes. What’s really devastating is that homeowners often don’t realize it until after a disaster when it’s too late.”