Utah's new wildfire risk maps spark insurance concerns for homeowners

Utah

The release of new wildfire risk maps by Utah's Division of Forestry, Fire, and State Lands has designated several neighborhoods, including parts of St. George and Dameron Valley, as high-risk areas. Homeowners in these zones are expressing concerns that the state-mandated risk scores could lead to higher insurance premiums or difficulty obtaining coverage, as insurers must now use the state's standardized maps.

State officials explain that the maps, updated annually for a decade, are now required by legislation to identify the highest risk structures and standardize insurance assessments. Residents can appeal their property's risk classification, and officials emphasize the maps are based on scientific data. Some homeowners report immediate challenges securing insurance, with coverage being dropped or hard to obtain after their properties were labeled high-risk.

I'm staying in what's considered a high-risk fire area according to maps released by the state last week. I'm Chris Reed in the Desert Canyons neighborhood of St. George. Neighbors here are worried that this isn't just a designation, it's a price tag. If you listen, there's no noise. It's great. Steve Friend lives in Dameron Valley. He also lives in an area in the red high-risk zone for wildfires. We told you last week about a new map released by the Utah's Division of Forestry, Fire, and State Lands. It's called the High-Risk Wildland Urban Interface and it was authorized by the state legislature. The state says the red areas are those with a structure risk score of seven or eight out of eight and have at least two structures within the 820-foot radius. Friend says the map unfairly lumps all properties in an area without taking into account fire mitigation efforts or the surrounding area. He notes his own property is a risk score of five. We're just drawing a picture, swatting an area and saying these are going to be high-risk areas. The director of the Forestry and Fire Division says that isn't the case. She says the maps have been created and updated yearly for a decade. But the legislative action required the identification of structures in the highest risk areas and to force insurance companies to use state maps rather than their own. The idea behind this bill related to insurance is to really put standardization to the map and also to create a map within the state of Utah that insurance companies use when analyzing insurance coverage. Jamie Barnes said the goal is to try to identify areas where structured destruction is likely. She noted last summer's Foresight fire that destroyed a southern Utah record 14 homes in Pine Valley. And she says there's an appeals process. Now, mind you, this was a model. We've ran it based on scientific data, but we're willing to have people come forward. We heard from residents throughout Washington County in or near the red zones. Scott Campbell told us he struggled to insure his home in the ledges near Dameron Valley. And when we bought this house, they just said you're in a fire zone. And I said, you've got to be kidding me. There's just no way. I mean, you would have thought that they would have come to look. When I bought this house, the first week I did not have insurance. I couldn't find it. And I found an obscure company for the first year, and then the second year they dropped the insurance. From Dameron Valley, Chris Reed, FOX 13 News, Utah.

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