Los Angeles and other areas in California are among the highest-risk areas for wildfires — but they’re not the only ones.
The Los Angeles wildfires that ignited last week have devastated communities and upended thousands of lives. The fires were fueled by powerful winds and dry conditions, and climate change also plays a role in increasing risk, with rainy periods becoming more intense and dry seasons lasting longer.
Many fires take place in areas where humans have overstepped into nature — also known as wildland-urban interface.
These types of conditions are not just impacting California. In October, the driest month ever was recorded across much of the eastern half of the country, including New York City, Philadelphia and Atlanta.
Here’s a look at locations in the United States that are in a fire-risk area, based on the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s National Risk Index:
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First Street Foundation, a climate nonprofit, assesses the risk of property being damaged by wildfires in areas across the country. It considers properties at “major” risk if they’re forecast to have at least a 6%-14% chance of being directly damaged by wildfire at least once over the next 30 years, or at “severe” risk if the chances are 15% or higher.
More than a quarter of homes in Los Angeles County may fall into the “major” risk category, while another 22% face “severe” risk, the organization says. Large sections of other Western states, Texas and the Great Plains also have a high rate of properties at risk, as does parts of Florida.
You can zoom in and hover over counties on the maps below to explore the risk level in your area.
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In Wyoming, about 69% of properties could be at “major” risk of a wildfire in the next 30 years, and Colorado has the next highest figure, with 53% facing “major” risk.
In September, the Pearl Fire near the Colorado-Wyoming border was human-caused and burned 138 acres over the course of five days.
In Arizona, 27% of properties in the state could face “severe” risk over the next 30 years, according to the First Street Foundation analysis.
In 2022, Arizona saw a wildfire that destroyed 30 residences and burned more than 20,000 acres from mid-April to early July.
