These 5 States Face Highest Risk for Wildfire Damages

Properties in California, Florida, Texas, Colorado and New Mexico face the highest risk for wildfire damages in 2022, according to a recent report from CoreLogic.

In its Wildfire Report for 2022, the property data, information and analytics provider examined property-related wildfire risk across 15 Western U.S. states and Florida. Property data was analyzed alongside reconstruction resource availability, temporary housing capacity for displaced individuals, and community economic recovery potential in the fire-prone states.

“Consuming thousands of homes in the U.S. every year, wildfires present a real and present threat to our families and communities,” said Tom Larsen, senior director of insurance solutions at CoreLogic. “Mitigating this risk will require commitment from homeowners, first responders, insurers and regulators. A first step in achieving the resilient communities we seek is to quantify what is at risk.”

High-risk States
With the highest number of homes in the Western U.S. and an environment particularly prone to fires, California topped the list of states most vulnerable to property damage. Wildfire data from CoreLogic shows nearly 1.3 million single-family residences exposed to wildfire risk.

In the past five years, California experienced many destructive wildfires. Among these were the Camp Fire that destroyed 18,804 structures in Butte County in 2018, the Tubbs Fire that affected 5,636 structures in Napa and Sonoma in 2017, and the North Complex wildfire that destroyed 2,352 structures in Butte, Plumas and Yuba in 2020, according to CalFire.

CoreLogic identified Florida as the second state that is most at risk for wildfire damages, with 814,499 single-family residences at risk, followed by Texas, with 474,560 residences at wildfire risk.

With 319,799 residences vulnerable to wildfire damage, Colorado ranked fourth on CoreLogic’s list. The research identified El Paso County, the state’s most populous county and home to Colorado Springs, as one area with a particularly high risk of property damage from wildfires. CoreLogic counted 39,000 properties vulnerable to wildfire damage.

“This is especially dangerous when considering that the county was home to around 730,000 people in 2020, meaning a significant wildfire event could impact a very large proportion of the population,” said CoreLogic in its report.

In Colorado, CoreLogic researchers point to the decreasing water levels in the Colorado River and Lake Mead, as well as the declines in snow packs, as examples of “climatological influences that have contributed to an increase in fire season length by an average of three months and a 1,500% increase in area burned by large wildfires in U.S. forests.”

New Mexico is the fifth riskiest housing market for wildfire damages, with 120,428 properties at risk. Santa Fe County, home to an estimated 155,000 people in 2020, has nearly 34,000 properties at risk of wildfire damage. According to the CoreLogic report, “This is why it is important to evaluate not only the overall number of homes at risk but also the proportion of a local population that will be impacted. This ratio underscores the magnitude of population displacement assistance, reconstruction resources, and individual and community economic recovery that could be required in the event of a significant wildfire event.”

Exacerbating Factors
Wildfires are a known prevalent risk in the Western states, with severity depending on key factors such as drought, ignitions, warm or windy weather, and dried fuels. These factors have been exacerbated by the climate crisis, severely altering the states’ wildfire profiles.