A question for you folks in CA and the PNW:

What are your thoughts or guidance regarding wildfires for someone who’s thinking of moving to the west coast, mostly to avoid the Midwest’s weather nastiness of cold & snowy winters and hot and humid summers?

Another weather issue that bothers me around here is severe thunderstorms, and although overall the weather’s better most of the time on the west coast, I would hate to trade the risk of bad storms (common enough) and tornadoes (unlikely, but very bad if one hits you) for the dual risks of horrible air quality for extended periods of time and everything going up in flames. I used to think of west coast wildfires as something that happened hundreds of miles away in national forests, and only threatened a few hardy souls that lived in tiny mountain communities, but then you see threads here and ATH where city-folk post images captured from their backyards, where you can barely see the sun and they worry about having to evacuate on short notice.

Bottom line, is this enough of an issue for me to seriously consider as I assess locations for eventual retirement, or am I just getting freaked out by something over-hyped that’s actually no worse in one’s everyday life than stuff like having a highway wreck, which you just live with as a fact of life, and don't worry too much about?

TIA