People Are Flocking To These Wildfire Zones

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Sunday was the hottest day ever recorded on Earth, and 2024 could beat 2023 as the warmest year on record. According to data from the European Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S), global average temperature on Sunday was 17.09 degrees Celsius (62.76 degrees Fahrenheit), higher than the record set on July 6, 2023 of 17.08 degrees Celsius.

While this difference is a small 0.01 degrees C, both records are considerably higher than the previous record of 16.8°C set in 2016. C3S Director Carlo Buontempo said , “We are now in truly uncharted territory and as the climate keeps warming, we are bound to see new records being broken in future months and years.”

With warmer, drier weather comes higher wildfire risk. In the past few weeks, the country has baked in high temperatures, with California and parts of the Pacific Northwest getting no relief and now struggling with more than two dozen fires. Evacuations are underway in Plumas  and Ventura Counties in California and Paulina, Oregon. A “LEVEL 3 - GO NOW! Evacuate immediately” was issued in parts of Mosier, Oregon. And these are just a few of the evacuations initiated.

As global warming increases wildfire risk to parts of the country, people still move to these areas. To determine the wildfire zones people are flocking to, 24/7 Wall St. reviewed data on population change due to net migration from the U.S. Census Bureau’s Population and Housing Unit Estimates program and natural hazard risk for counties from the March 2023 FEMA National Risk Index dataset. Counties classified as “relatively high” or “very high” risk of wildfire by FEMA were ranked based on total population change due to net migration from April 2020 to July 2023. (Net migration is the number of people moving into an area less the number of people leaving.)

While Florida may not always grab the headlines when it comes to wildfires, it still has areas considered to have relatively high to high wildfire risk, and 16 of these counties in the state attracted population from outside the county. For example, the population of Polk County grew by nearly 95,000 from net migration since 2020 despite a FEMA wildfire risk rating of 99.0 out of 100, and Lee County (For Myers) grew by nearly 80,000 despite a risk rating of 98.0/100. (Also see: Every Billion Dollar Weather Disaster in the US in the Past Year .)

The county that added the most residents from net migration is also the largest on the list. Maricopa County, Arizona, which encompasses Phoenix, has added 133,052 residents since 2020. The county, with its nearly 4.6 million residents, is tied for having the second highest wildfire risk rating on the list at 99.7/100. The county with the highest wildfire risk rating on the list in Washington County, Utah, with 99.9/100.

Why are we covering this

Riverside County, California, has attracted over 55,000 residents since 2020, despite having a high wildfire risk. Just this week, several houses burned in the county, prompting evacuations. For those considering moving, knowing the wildfire risk is important for preparedness.

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