More than half a million Americans live within 3 miles of oil and gas flares Texas, North Dakota and Montana produce the most flaring activity, according to a new report An estimated 535,000 people in the US live within three miles of oil and gas flares. That’s according to a new report by the University of Southern California (USC) and the University of California Las Angles, which estimates 39% of these Americans, approximately 210,000 people, are located near sites that produce more than 100 nightly flare events. Flaring is used during the exploration, production and processing of fossil fuels, and it is common in oil-producing areas.