The Wildland-Urban Interface: Wildfire Risk at Your Doorstep

Three trends are combining to put some Washington state communities at an increased risk of wildfire damage.

First, wildfires are becoming more common. Between 2000 and 2011, 117,000 wildland acres burned on average each year in the state. Between 2012 and 2017, that number nearly quadrupled to 460,500.¹ In 2018, 1,743 wildfires burned 438,834 acres in Washington state.²

Second, more people are living in areas near wildlands, also called the wildland-urban interface (WUI). Nearly a million homes in Washington are located in the WUI.³

Neighborhood located in the wildland-urban interface Homes in the wildland-urban Interface (WUI) in Washington state are at an
elevated risk of property damage from a wildfire

Related:
How the Growing Wildland-Urban Interface Increases Property Risk

There’s no way to predict how many acres will burn in this year’s wildfire season or which communities specifically will be affected, but the state Department of Natural Resources (DNR) has identified 25 places most likely to be exposed to wildland fire. Leavenworth tops the list, which also includes Wenatchee, Cashmere, Chelan, Twisp, Winthrop, and other areas near forests. Here’s the complete list, which the DNR ranked based on the high likelihood of a wildland fire occurring combined with a high population:⁴

1. Leavenworth	14. Okanogan
2. Ellensburg	15. Colville
3. Selah	16. Cle Elum
4. Spokane	17. Winthrop
5. Wenatchee	18. Sunnyslope
6. Chelan	19. Brewster
7. Goldendale	20. Kittitas
8. Tonasket	21. Entiat
9. Cashmere	22. Ahtanum
10. Omak	23. Summitview
11. Twisp	24. Malott
12. Deer Park	25. Manson
13. Clarkston Heights-Vineland

Related:
Help Your Customers Prepare for Wildfire Season with Our Risk Tool

Many Washington properties are at high risk of wildfire damage

Wildfire risk isn’t limited to just the areas on the DNR’s list. Across the state, more than 160,000 properties are at high or extreme risk of being affected by wildfire. That number puts Washington sixth on the list of all states.⁵

Top 10 States at High to Extreme Wildfire Risk, 2019⁶

Rank	State	Properties at Risk (estimated)
1	California	2,019,800
2	Texas	717,800
3	Colorado	371,100
4	Arizona	237,900
5	Idaho	175,000
6	Washington	160,500
7	Oklahoma	153,400
8	Oregon	151,400
9	Montana	137,800
10	Utah	136,000

A third trend is the wildland now has more fuel. For decades, the standard response to wildfire was to suppress it as quickly as possible, a practice that had the unintended consequence of fuel accumulation. When forests now dense with fuel catch on fire, they burn hotter and more severely than thinner forests did in the past.

What’s causing wildland fires in the WUI and elsewhere? Primarily people. The DNR estimates 70% of wildland fires started in Washington between 1992 and 2015 were caused by humans. Unattended campfires, improperly disposed of cigarettes, debris burns and arson are the most common reasons wildfires start. Lightning is responsible for starting the remaining fires.⁷

Related:
Fire Safety Tips for Consumers

The consequences of the growing WUI

As the WUI grows — and wildfire risk grows along with it — insurance professionals are likely to need more and better information about it. WSRB is here to help you understand the properties you insure or are considering insuring and how fire risk affects them. So, we'll be publishing more content on the topic of wildfire over the next several weeks.

We are also building a tool giving you valuable information on every property in Washington state and its wildfire risk. When the tool is ready, we’ll announce its availability here on our blog. Stay tuned.

In the meantime, you can help customers in the WUI protect their properties by providing them with resources to reduce property damage risk. Here are a few:

The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) runs the Firewise USA program to help communities work together to protect their homes against wildfire damage. The NFPA offers free training and information on its Firewise website.
The office of Washington state governor maintains a website with state and federal resources for people affected by wildfire.
Recent Washington state legislation, HB 2322, allows insurers to provide non-commercial customers with goods and services that reduce risk. Download our white paper to learn more about how the legislation works and how it can benefit your customers and your company.