More than two million homes in California “at high or extreme risk of wildfire:” Verisk Analytics

About 4.5 million homes in the United States are at high or extreme risk of wildfire, with just over two million in California alone, according to a series of reports released on Wednesday.

The 2015 FireLine State Risk Reports from Verisk Insurance Solutions, a source of information about property and casualty insurance risk, summarize risk in 13 wildfire-prone states, with three new states – Montana, Oklahoma and Wyoming – included in this year’s analysis. California ranks first for the highest number of households “at high or extreme risk” of wildfire at 2,054,400 (of 13,680,100 units in the state), the state report says, adding that 555,000 acres burned in 2014.

The top five counties by number of housing units in high and extreme wildfire risk category include Los Angeles (444,200), San Diego (251,100), San Bernardino (112,200), Ventura (81,600) and Alameda (76,800).

“Worsening drought conditions in the western states indicate that 2015 has the potential to be one of the most devastating wildfire seasons on record,” said Neil Spector, president, underwriting, Verisk Insurance Solutions, in a press release. “The number of wildfires in California alone in the first five months of 2015 is up 54% over the five-year average for the same time period. It’s more important than ever for insurers to be prepared and manage their wildfire risk effectively.” [click image below to enlarge]

The number of households in California at risk is approximately three times second highest state, Texas, with 706,200. Texas has 9,977,400 housing units and 131,000 acres burned in 2014, the Texas report says.

Other findings show that the states with the highest percentage of households at high or extreme risk of wildfire are Montana (27%) and Idaho (25%) and Colorado ranks third in terms of both number and percentage of households at high or extreme risk.

Related: $1 billion water plan heads to California governor for signature as drought lingers

The reports are produced using data from FireLine, Verisk’s wildfire risk management service. FireLine — powered by Verisk Climate technology — helps insurers assess wildfire risk at the address level, the release say, adding that the service uses advanced remote sensing and digital mapping technology to determine the impact of three factors that contribute to wildfire risk: fuel, slope, and access. FireLine also identifies properties located in “Special Hazard Interface Areas” for risks exposed to wind-borne embers.

The FireLine State Risk Reports provide snapshot views of the wildfire risk in each FireLine state, including wildfire risk at a glance; FireLine wildfire hazard map; percentage and number of housing units at high, medium, and low wildfire risk; and top five counties by number of housing units and highest concentration of high and extreme wildfire risk.