What Are Wildfire Risk Scores and How Are They Calculated?
Wildfire risk scores are scores assigned to properties by third-party vendors based on the likelihood of direct or indirect exposure to a wildfire. Wildfire risk scores can be a factor used by insurance companies when making coverage decisions. Additionally, wildfire risk scores can be a helpful metric for real estate developers to consider when determining whether to buy a piece of property.

There are a variety of vendors that use unique methods to calculate wildfire risk scores. For example, CoreLogic, FireLine, and RedZone are vendors used by insurance companies in California. Some vendors' scoring scales are from 1-10, and some are from 1-100, but generally the higher the score, the higher the likelihood of a wildfire impacting the property. There is no national, standardized scoring scale.

Reprinted courtesy of Louis "Dutch" Schotemeyer, Newmeyer Dillion and Molly L. Okamura, Newmeyer Dillion

Mr. Schotemeyer may be contacted at dutch.schotemeyer@ndlf.com
Ms. Okamura may be contacted at molly.okamura@ndlf.com