The wildfire risk to Texans is getting bigger and bigger, according to Newsweek.
“We’re sitting here waiting for the ticking time bomb to explode,” said Steven Haynes, assistant professor of practice, finance, and managerial economics at the University of Texas. He expects there to be “rich fuel sources scattered by high winds” followed by “a wildfire that’s going to be very difficult to contain.”
What’s happening?
The only state subject to more wildfires than Texas is California. Texas even leads California in acreage burned. Despite this, the Lone Star State is showing much less ability to deal with the upcoming season, according to experts.
While California enjoys a professional statewide firefighting force for large-scale threats, Texas depends on a patchwork of local volunteers for its fires. Regardless, real estate data from Redfin shows that more than 30,000 people moved into fire-prone areas in Texas in 2024.
Looming threats of fire are resulting in skyrocketing insurance rates or the withdrawal of coverage altogether. Insurance challenges are exacerbated by lax building codes that make Texas homes more likely to catch fire. Reports have suggested that insurance changes could spark a housing crisis worse than 2008’s.
Why are Texas wildfires important?
Wildfires are an obvious and direct threat to human habitation, but the damage doesn’t stop there. Wildlife habitats are destroyed by these catastrophes. The animals that survive are flung into unfamiliar habitats, often wounded and poorly-equipped to fend for themselves.
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Wildfires also emit massive amounts of pollution. 2023 Canadian wildfires actually made the country’s air quality worse than America’s, despite the vast difference in population. Combined with human-made pollution, these gases further exacerbate the extreme heat waves that cause increased wildfires in the first place.
What’s being done about Texas wildfires?
To combat these challenges, Daryl Fairweather, chief economist at Redfin, suggested the state deploy measures to encourage building homes in fire-resilient areas. New insurance regulations could help too.
“This means that regulations are working to protect consumers but are not so burdensome that insurers leave Texas altogether,” she said. “There need to be enough insurers willing to operate in Texas, such that insurers are competing for customers, and not the other way around.”
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