Latest Wildfire Headlines
All the headlines from our Wildfire Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Insurers Pressing Oregon Landowners to Take Wildfire Prevention Measures
Aug 17 2009 // Insurance companies have begun telling some policyholders in Eastern Oregon to protect their buildings against wildfires, say industry and government officials. One Oregon Department of Forestry official said he’s...
California Orders Evacuations as Lockheed Wildfire Spreads
Aug 14 2009 // With strong onshore winds fanning the flames of the Lockheed wildfire in Santa Cruz County, officials have ordered mandatory evacuations for Bonny Doon and Swanton for from 2,200 to 2,400 people. Two structures have burned...
Canada’s Insurers Respond Quickly to Wildfire Crisis
Jul 23 2009 // Insurers in British Columbia “are acting quickly to assist those whose homes and businesses have been affected by the forest fires currently raging in the province,” notes a bulletin from the Insurance Bureau...
2003 San Diego Wildfires Cost $2.5 Billion
Jul 15 2009 // By looking at factors not typically analyzed after a major wildfire, San Diego State University (SDSU) researchers found that the actual economic impact of the 2003 San Diego wildfires was $2.45 billion, over $2 billion...
Momentous Insurance, Fireman’s Fund Urge California Wildfire Preparedness
Jun 17 2009 // Momentous Insurance Brokerage of Van Nuys, Calif., has partnered with Fireman’s Fund Insurance Co. and the Burbank Fire Department to help protect Southern Californians from wildfires. In 2006, Momentous secured a...
Nevada Airs Insurance Public Service Announcements
Jun 5 2009 // Nevada Insurance Commissioner Scott J. Kipper has released three public service announcements to air on television and radio stations across the state beginning in June. The PSAs bring to light some important issues...
California Wildfires: Coverage Disputes May Be Heating Up
Jun 1 2009 // On a number of well-publicized occasions, California homeowners have been ravaged by a series of wildfires with devastating results. Most recently in May in Santa Barbara, for example, the Jesusita Fire burned 80 homes and...
California Proposes Extending Tax Grace Period to Fire Victims
May 27 2009 // California Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner has joined Assemblymember Joel Anderson, R – El Cajon, to support AB 157, and to offer disaster preparation tips for all San Diego residents. AB 157 would allow Cedar...
Georgia Firefighters Lack Tools for Wildfires, Hazardous Materials
May 20 2009 // Georgia firefighters say they are feeling the negative effects of the current economic crisis and lack some key equipment, according to a national survey of firefighters. The survey identified the top three challenges...
Winds Fan Santa Barbara Wildfire During Wildfire Awareness Week
May 18 2009 // A wildfire that began on May 5 in Santa Barbara County, Calif. — during Wildfire Awareness Week May 3-9 — continued to burn as of press time, having burned 8,733 acres and destroyed 77 residences as of May 10,...
What Additional Living Expense/Loss of Use Coverage Means to California Fire Victims
May 18 2009 // The skies are filled with smoke, and hundreds of homeowners were evacuated from their homes in Santa Barbara earlier in May. During November 2008’s Tea Fire, which occurred in roughly the same areas as this...
Santa Barbara Wildfire 95% Contained
May 15 2009 // A 8,733-acre fire that destroyed 80 homes and forced 30,500 people from their homes in Santa Barbara, Calif., was reported 95 percent contained on May 15. The last mandatory evacuation orders associated with the Jesusita...
Arizona Wildfire Budgets About the Same as Last Year
May 13 2009 // Not much may seem recession-proof these days, but budgets for preventing and fighting wildfires nationally and in Arizona have stayed largely the same for the past five years. That much is good news for firefighting...
Safety Measure May Have Sparked SoCal Wildfire
May 12 2009 // A wildfire that destroyed dozens of homes is 70 percent contained and firefighters are mopping up hot spots. Fire officials released updated figures, saying the 13-square-mile blaze had destroyed 77 homes, damaged 22...
Santa Barbara Wildfire Increase 448%, Insurers Ready for Calls
May 8 2009 // A wildfire that began on May 5 in Santa Barbara County, Calif., continues to burn, increasing 448 percent from 500 acres burned yesterday to 2,739 acres burned and at least 20 homes destroyed as of this morning, according...
Chubb Helps to Protect Homes from Santa Barbara Wildfire
May 8 2009 // As the wildfire in Santa Barbara, CA, expands in scope and intensity, the Chubb Group of Insurance Companies has stepped up measures to help protect its homeowners insurance customers’ properties. Earlier this week,...
2009 California, Washington Wildfire Activity Predicted To Be Above Normal
May 4 2009 // Northern California, where nearly a million acres burned last summer, is poised to possibly be another hotspot for wildfire activity in 2009, according to the Fire Season Outlook released by the Predictive Services group...
Insurance Claims from South Carolina Wildfire to Top $25 Million
Apr 29 2009 // Insurance companies expect claims from a South Carolina wildfire that has destroyed more than 70 homes near the coast to top $25 million. Allison Dean Love with the South Carolina Insurance News Service said the $25...
Myrtle Beach Property Owners Add Wildfire to Hurricane Risk
Apr 28 2009 // They flock from other states and climes to the coast known as the Grand Strand, first as tourists, and later as residents, captivated by ocean views, rolling green fairways and the relaxed lifestyle. Most knew that an...
Experts Predict Mild Alaska Wildfire Season
Apr 28 2009 // Fire forecasters for the Alaska Interagency Coordination Center are predicting a rather mild wildfire season this summer. However, Dave Curry, manager of the agency that coordinates firefighting efforts for the state,...