The coastal county of Santa Cruz, California, was once an aspirational place to live, but more and more citizens are looking for a way out because of issues with home insurance.
What's happening?
In November, KTVU Fox 2 described an issue facing California homeowners, with insurance companies raising premiums without warning or dropping coverage entirely.
One reason cited for increasing policy rates was unstable market conditions, and a warming climate was another explanation for why insurance companies no longer wanted to provide residents with peace of mind.
With wildfires and other extreme weather events affecting more areas of the state — and becoming longer-lasting and more intense — insuring properties has become too risky.
In Scotts Valley, residents who are able to access home insurance at all are met with prices two-and-a-half to three-and-a-half times more than the cost of a policy five years ago, as Fox 2 observed.
"A lot of people have left or are trying to leave," longtime resident Matt Maxsen told the outlet. "They don't know what's coming."
Why is a lack of insurance concerning?
According to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, there were 7,386 wildfire events in 2023 that burned 323,857 acres and caused four fatalities. A total of 157 structures were also destroyed.
In 2024, the picture isn't much better. According to NPR, by July 16, 20 times more acreage had been burned when compared to the same date in 2023.
It's clear, then, why people want to protect their homes from rising wildfire risks. Increasingly hot and dry weather as a result of human-caused global heating make the conditions much more favorable for a wildfire to begin.
But with home insurance being more difficult to obtain or pay for, people are worried that they may not be able to repair or replace their homes should they be affected by wildfire, potentially losing the roofs over their heads as well as needing to shell out hundreds of thousands of dollars for new properties.
What can be done to reduce wildfire risk?
Cal Fire director Joe Tyler told NPR that 95% of wildfires are caused by humans, typically from sparks that come from towing vehicles, welding, shooting guns, or even mowing lawns.
Being mindful about these activities is extremely important in drought conditions. Switching from a gas-powered lawn mower to an electric or hand-powered one will help to eliminate the risk of fuel-related fire hazards and also reduce the production of planet-warming pollution.
The latter is particularly key. Exhaust fumes from gas-powered lawn equipment and dirty fuel-powered transportation release gases such as carbon dioxide and nitrous oxide, which persist in the atmosphere and trap heat, leading to rising temperatures.
So, electric alternatives can make a real difference in terms of prevention. Thankfully, California is leading the way when it comes to electric vehicles, with over 1 million registered in the state in 2023.
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