A dry spell and a haphazard spark could put billions of dollars worth of homes in danger.
MarketWatch reports that 1.8 million homes across 13 western states are in a “high and extreme” risk wildfire area. The total value of reconstruction is nearly $500 billion.
After taking into account “low” and “moderate” wildfire risk areas, nearly 30 million homes with an estimated reconstruction cost value of $6.7 trillion are in jeopardy.
Wildfires burned more than 10 million acres last year, double the average of the previous 20 years.
Among metro areas, Southern California’s Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario area has the highest number of homes at extreme risk (51,775), while Northern California’s Sacramento-Roseville-Arden-Arcade area comes in second (41,937) and Colorado’s Denver-Aurora-Lakewood area comes in third (33,226).
