‘We are sitting here waiting [it] explode’

The wildfire risk for Texans is getting bigger and bigger, according to Newsweek.

“We are sitting here waiting for the time bomb to explode,” said Steven Haynes, assistant professor of practice, finance and managerial economics at the University of Texas. He expects that there will be “rich sources of fuel scattered by strong winds” followed by “wildfires that will be very difficult to contain.”

What is going on?

The only state subject to more wildfires than Texas is California. Texas even leads California in acreage burned. Despite this, the Lone Star State is showing much less ability to deal with the upcoming season, according to experts.

While California enjoys a professional statewide firefighting force for large-scale threats, Texas relies on a mix of local volunteers for its fires. Regardless, real estate data from Redfin shows that more than 30,000 people moved into fire-prone areas in Texas in 2024.

An imminent threat of fire is resulting in insurance rates going up or the withdrawal of coverage altogether. Insurance challenges are compounded by lax building codes that make Texas homes more likely to catch fire. Reports have suggested that insurance changes could trigger a housing crisis worse than that of 2008.

Why are the Texas wildfires important?

Wildfires are an obvious and direct threat to human habitation, but the damage does not stop there. Wildlife habitats are destroyed by these catastrophes. The animals that survive are thrown into unfamiliar habitats, often injured and ill-equipped to fend for themselves.

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Forest fires also emit large amounts of pollution. The Canadian wildfires of 2023 actually made the country’s air quality worse than America’s, despite the huge difference in population. Together with man-made pollution, these gases further exacerbate the extreme heat waves that cause an increase in fires in the first place.

What is being done about the Texas wildfires?

To combat these challenges, Daryl Fairweather, chief economist of Redfin, suggested that the state use measures to encourage the construction of houses in areas resistant to fire. New insurance regulations may also help.

“This means that the regulations are working to protect consumers but are not so burdensome that insurers leave Texas altogether,” she said. “There needs to be enough insurers willing to operate in Texas, so that insurers are competing for customers, and not the other way around.”

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