Arizona continues to wrestle with wildfires

Arizona Wildfires 2011As much of the Southeastern U.S. continues to recover from an onslaught of disastrous storms, Arizona is battling several relentless wildfires. The fires have already scorched over 400,000 acres of land and destroyed a number of residences.

 To date, this is the most destructive fire to have struck Arizona, spurred by a prolonged drought that is plaguing many of the surrounding states. Adding to the issue is a new report from the National Interagency Fire Center, which suggests that every state in the country is now at risk of forming wildfires.

The Centers says that the majority of states have already dealt with fires this year. There may be many more by the time the year is over, adding to the already 3.4 million acres of burnt land and property nationwide. Even states whose climate is not conducive to wildfires, such as Florida, have been battling blazes. The nation’s insurance industry has been experiencing an influx of customers seeking protections against such events.

The largest and most indomitable of the fires in Arizona currently threaten nearly 3,000 properties – homes and business buildings included. The areas most at risk have been evacuated by the local fire department while efforts continue to contain the blaze.

While Arizona’s outbreak of wildfires have caused relatively minimal damage to properties when compared to similar events in California only a few years previous, the Fire Center suspects that there will be a modest impact on the state’s insurance industry in the form of higher premiums.

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