Latest Wildfire Headlines
All the headlines from our Wildfire Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Officials Blame Santa Barbara Wildfire on Bonfire
Nov 20 2008 // A bonfire built by college students and never fully extinguished was responsible for the massive wildfire in Santa Barbara that destroyed 210 homes, many of them multimillion-dollar properties, authorities said. An...
California’s Emergency Fire Costs Hit $305 Million; Governor To Propose Insurance Surcharge
Nov 20 2008 // The Southern California wildfires are burning a bigger hole in California’s budget, adding to the state’s $11.2 billion deficit, the governor’s finance spokesman said. The state has spent $305 million on...
California State Fund Extends Credit Relief to Policyholders Affected by Southern California Fires
Nov 19 2008 // The California State Compensation Insurance Fund announced it will extend credit to policyholders who have suffered financial loss or business disruption caused by the fires in Montecito, Orange County and Sylmar. To date,...
Majority of Southern California Wildfires Contained
Nov 19 2008 // Firefighters are still working on containing two of the fires burning in Southern California. In the past five days, more than 42,000 acres have burned, and close to 1,000 properties have been destroyed, according to CAL...
Firefighters Make Gains on Southern California Wildfires
Nov 18 2008 // Firefighters made progress on extinguishing the fires burning in Southern California yesterday, thanks to reduced wind conditions. To date, three of the five fires have been contained, although more than 44,000 acres have...
Fire Victims Should Seek Safety, Make Contact with Insurers
Nov 18 2008 // As firefighters work to contain the Tea, Sayre, and Freeway Complex fires throughout Southern California, property/casualty insurance companies are on the ground reaching out to policyholders to facilitate immediate...
Southern California Battles Devastating Wildfires
Nov 17 2008 // Southern Californians weathered a fourth day of devastation on Sunday, as wind-blasted wildfires destroyed hundreds of residences, shut down major freeways and forced thousands of residents in the path of flames to flee to...
What Additional Living Expense/Loss of Use Coverage Means to California Fire Victims
Nov 17 2008 // The skies are filled with smoke, and thousands of homeowners being evacuated from their homes in Southern California. It has been a weekend of devastation with the fires still ablaze. Our Saturday night’s plans...
California Commissioner Declares Insurance Emergency to Expedite Fire Claims Processing
Nov 17 2008 // California Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner declared an insurance emergency to cut red tape and allow insurance companies to use out of state adjusters to more quickly work through the spate of fire...
San Diego Voters Reject Fire Tax
Nov 16 2008 // Wildfires claimed more lives and homes in San Diego than any other county in California’s devastating firestorms of 2003 and 2007, yet voters in that county rejected a proposition that would have established a parcel...
California Recovers Nearly $13 Million Following 2007 Wildfires
Nov 2 2008 // Nearly one year after the October 2007 wildfires, the California Department of Insurance has recovered more than $12.7 million from insurance companies by standing up for consumers who had been shortchanged. The $12.7...
Fire-Charred New Mexico Mountains Fuel Policy Debate
Oct 24 2008 // Along a twisting dirt road in the heart of New Mexico’s Manzano Mountains was a piece of property that caught Paul Davis’ eye. There was a lush meadow, a stream on one side and an expansive hill covered with...
Oregon Proposes Sharing Wildfire Costs
Oct 22 2008 // The only sure things about wildfires is that they will cost more to put out than they used to and that they remain as unpredictable as ever. Hotter, drier summers, rising labor and equipment costs, buildup of forest fuels...
California Opens Local Assistance Center for Wildfire Victims
Oct 22 2008 // California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger announced the establishment of a Local Assistance Center to help victims of the recent Southern California wildfires. The center, located at Dexter Park, in Sylmar, Calif., will...
California Recovers Nearly $13 Million Following 2007 Wildfires
Oct 21 2008 // Nearly one year after the October 2007 wildfires, California Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner announced that the state’s Department of Insurance has recovered more than $12.7 million from insurance companies by...
Cross-Border Trucking, Competitiveness Concerns in Arizona
Oct 20 2008 // Being the sixth-largest state in the nation, and one of the fastest-growing, makes Arizona an attractive place to live and do business. And that means the state is desirable from an insurance perspective, too, according to...
Wildfires Rage North of Los Angeles
Oct 15 2008 // With savage winds subsiding overnight, firefighters on Tuesday contained 70 percent of one of the three major wildfires that have charred more than 25 square miles, destroyed dozens of homes and forced thousands of people...
Wildfire Threatens Homes, Wineries in Napa Valley
Oct 13 2008 // Hundreds of firefighters are battling a wildfire that is threatening homes and wineries in California’s Napa Valley. Fire officials say the blaze burned 300 acres in the hills by Saturday, Oct. 11, 2008, evening just...
Colordo Proposal Would Require County Wildfire-Prep Plans
Sep 23 2008 // A Colorado legislative committee studying the wildfire threat in Colorado is proposing a requirement that all counties have wildfire preparedness plans. The committee also is looking to put $50 million over five years into...
Woman Who Started Wildfire Says It Was Symbolic
Sep 15 2008 // The former U.S. Forest Service employee who started the worst wildfire in Colorado’s recorded history testified she burned the letter blamed for igniting the blaze as a “symbolic gesture” of her failing...
