Coachella Valley cities face major risk of wildfire, new tool shows. Look up your address here
A new online tool allows you to see where your home stands at risk of wildfire, as well as flooding.
Risk Factor, a tool provided by the First Street Foundation, a nonprofit research, and technology group, allows you to type in your city or zip code to see how many commercial/residential properties are at risk.
"They're seeing an actual snapshot of their home. So we are taking satellite and looking from space down to then look at the defensible space around a structure," said Matthew Eby, founder of Risk Factor.
Risk Factor includes fire service data about types and size of trees and any nearby wildfires in the past. It scans county records for the age and composition of homes and roofs and it mashes that all up with climate change models to give homeowners, and homebuyers a look at the fire risk now and 30 years from now.
Risk Factor lists that 87% of all properties in Palm Springs have some risk of being affected by a wildfire over the next 30 years.
Meanwhile, the city of Indio has a 98% of properties have some risk of being affected by a wildfire.
Desert Hot Springs has a "severe" risk of being affected by a wildfire.
You can find your city/area at https://riskfactor.com/
The First Street Foundation's Wildfire Model released on May 16 shows that Riverside County has the greatest number of properties with a wildfire risk this year.
“If you've driven around, there's that you see a lot of that a lot of that brown dead vegetation is in the area. And that's all fuel when you're talking about wildfires,” said Rob Roseen said Cal Fire Public Safety Information Specialist.
During wildfire season, Cal Fire suggests:
- Clearing areas around your home from debris or any flammable items
- Come up with an action plan in case of an evacuation
- Pack essential belongings like medications, food and water
"It's going to be busy for our folks out in the field. and the folks need to be prepared focusing to have their homes, their families, and themselves ready in case and when wildfire impacts them," Roseen added.
For more on wildfire safety tips, click here.
