The Avenue AUGUST 2024 Real Estate Newsletter

SLO County Market Update & great read on “California Fires – by the Numbers″

An unusually wet winter and spring, combined with a hotter than normal June, has stocked California with plenty of vegetation susceptible to ignition. Although timber is less prone to fire, these dense understory ladder fuels (vegetation that allows fire to climb into a tree’s canopy), combined with the perfect wind conditions, can produce fast fire spread. With these circumstance in mind, CAL FIRE is prepped for a longer and more intense fire season this year and the number of acres burned so far is much higher than average.

*INTERESTING FACT –

SLO County has 84 public schools serving almost 33,000 students. There are also 26 private schools with approximately 2,900 students enrolled.

“California Fires – by the Numbers”

An unusually wet winter and spring, combined with a hotter than normal June, has stocked California with plenty of vegetation susceptible to ignition. Although timber is less prone to fire, these dense understory ladder fuels (vegetation that allows fire to climb into a tree’s canopy), combined with the perfect wind conditions, can produce fast fire spread. With these circumstance in mind, CAL FIRE is prepped for a longer and more intense fire season this year and the number of acres burned so far is much higher than average.

The Big Picture:

CAL FIRE employs 12,000 permanent and seasonal personnel and has the largest civilian firefighting air fleet in the nation, protecting over 31 million acres of wildland. The U.S. Forest Service also has just under 4,000 seasonal and year-round firefighters.

• There have been more than 250,000 California wildfires over the past 30 years, with 18 of the 20 largest fires occurring in the last 2 decades.
• 95% of all wildfires are caused by humans. Top 3 modes of ignition:
  • Equipment/Vehicles
  • Arson
  • Burning Debris
• The total area burned in California each year ranges from 90,000 acres in 2000 to 4.2 million acres in 2020.
• Utility infrastructure has been responsible for less than 10% of reported wildfires. However, power line fires make up almost 50% of the most destructive fires in California history. 

Our Homes:

• In the past 5 years, 25,000 homes and other buildings in California have been destroyed.
• Nearly 2 million homes in California (1 in 10 buildings), are listed as being in areas of “extreme risk of wildfire”.
• The number of homes at risk is expected to increase 6x in the next 30 years.

So Far in 2024:

• There has been 5,210 wildfires (as of mid-August) and 821,877 acres burned.
• (While the number of fires in the state is keeping pace with the five year average, the number of acres burned, so far, is more than double.)
• 38 people have been arrested for arson.

The Money:

• CAL FIRE has spent over $30 billion since 2017, battling and preventing wildfires.
• It is estimated that for every $1 spent on fire mitigation efforts, $3 is saved in recovery costs.
• 2017 was the most expensive year for wildfires on record. Insurance companies paid out nearly $12 billion.
• Private home insurance rates in California rose 43% from 2018 to 2023.
• PG&E rates have jumped 128% over the past decade. California pays 29% more than the national average, second only to Hawaii, which has separate grids for each island and relies heavily on imported petroleum for power generation.