Forecasters are saying that the West may have a particularly bad fire season, as several more damaging fires have been set way ahead of the hottest and driest months.
An intense fire has destroyed 20 homes in an affluent community in Orange County, California, on Wednesday evening.
In New Mexico more hectares were set ablaze by wildfires in the first five months of this year than in any other year over the last ten years.
Wildfires are a common hazard to homeowners across the West.
But the nature of forest fires has previously made it harder to quantify the risk than floods, for example.
Forest fires are rising quickly, wind can carry embers and sparks for large distances and capture trees and buildings.
On Monday, the nonprofit First Street Foundation released a countrywide risk assessment of wildfires — a gush of data that shows homeowners and business owners how vulnerable their property is to wildfires.
