Long Island, NY - February 6, 2015 - Every year, wildfires burn across the U.S. and more and more people are living where wildfires are a real risk. Nearly 45 million homes abut or intermingle with grasslands, forests and wildlands, and more than 72,000 U.S. communities are threatened by fire.

To help communities prepare and reduce their risk of wildfire damage, State Farm® is providing funding to the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) Wildland Fire Operations Division for its second annual Wildfire Community Preparedness Day event on May 2, 2015.

State Farm has a long history of providing proactive wildfire safety education to its policyholders in high-risk regions, including NFPA's Firewise materials and concepts. "State Farm finds it important to inform and encourage homeowners and communities to adopt effective wildfire mitigation programs that produce stronger, safer homes where lives are saved and a family’s largest investment is better protected,” said Vickie Hodges, State Farm loss mitigation analyst.

The national Preparedness Day event gives people of all ages a chance to participate in a risk reduction or wildfire preparedness activity that makes their community a safer place to live. A portion of the State Farm grant funding will be awarded to 65 neighborhood wildfire risk reduction projects being implemented during the May 2nd event. Project ideas can be submitted through March 5, 2015.

"NFPA is thrilled to be partnering with State Farm for our second annual Wildfire Community Preparedness Day event," said Lorraine Carli, NFPA vice president of Outreach and Advocacy. “Their support really does go beyond just dollars. Both organizations are committed to helping empower and encourage residents to take action with regard to fire safety. Having an influential partner like State Farm sends a very powerful message."

Wildfire hazard is a growing threat to communities throughout the United States. The combination of drought, mild temperatures, high winds and an excess of dried vegetation in forests and grasslands has made fire seasons progressively worse over the past 50 years. According to the National Interagency Fire Center (NIFC), 2013 saw more than four million acres burned.

For more information about the national Wildfire Community Preparedness Day event, please visit the website.

About State Farm®
State Farm and its affiliates are the largest provider of car insurance in the U.S. In addition to providing auto insurance quotes, their 18,000 agents and more than 65,000 employees serve over 82 million policies and accounts – nearly 80 million auto, home, life, health and commercial policies, and nearly 2 million bank accounts. Commercial auto insurance, along with coverage for renters, business owners, boats and motorcycles, is available. State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company is the parent of the State Farm family of companies. State Farm is ranked No. 41 on the 2014 Fortune 500 list of largest companies.

About the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA)
NFPA is a worldwide leader in fire, electrical, building, and life safety. The mission of the international nonprofit organization founded in 1896 is to reduce the worldwide burden of fire and other hazards on the quality of life by providing and advocating consensus codes and standards, research, training, and education. NFPA develops more than 300 codes and standards to minimize the possibility and effects of fire and other hazards.