A map showing the risk of wildfires across the US has been released by emergency services. The map , which uses recent data and risk assessments, shows San Diego County as one of the areas most at risk.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) created the map to show how likely a wildfire could be in any area, from very high to very low. FEMA hopes the map will highlight the need for strategies to adapt to climate change.
The map shows that western, mid-west, and southern states are likely to have wildfires, as they are marked in red. However, the Aleutian Islands in Alaska have the lowest risk.
If you can’t see the map below, click here.
FEMA’s map is designed to help emergency services prepare for natural disasters by tracking hazards across the country. Southern California counties, including San Diego, Riverside, San Bernardino, and Los Angeles , have the highest risk levels.
The “high risk” label is based on factors like how well a community can cope with natural hazards, expected annual economic loss, and how vulnerable an area is. FEMA hopes to prevent situations like the Highland and York fires, where people had to leave their homes after wildfires destroyed thousands of acres of land, reports the Mirror .