Half of the Lower 48 States in Danger of Wildfire
A new study shows that half of all addresses in the lower 48 states face wildfire risk. In some less-populated states, including Wyoming and Montana, more than 90% of properties are at-risk. “Frightening assessment,” said CAR’s Colorado Project Wildfire Chair Ulrich Salzgeber. A prediction model put together by the First Street Foundation, a nonprofit research and technology group, shows that California has 631,755 addresses facing wildfire, followed by Texas (474,367 properties) and Florida (383,634). Arizona, Utah, Nevada, and New Mexico are each host to more than 100,000 properties in danger of wildfire. Salzgeber commented, “We are hearing more and more properties that insurance companies won’t touch due to all the losses they are incurring from wildfires. We had a $4 million property sale fall through when the buyers learned that their homeowners insurance would cost $40,000 per year.”