Latest Wildfire Headlines
All the headlines from our Wildfire Topic Page, ordered by recency.
California Wildfires Will Likely Lead to Large Economic and Insured Losses
Jan 8 2025 // Active wind-driven wildfires in Southern California that are estimated to have burned more than 1,000 properties and prompted evacuation orders for more than 80,000 residents will likely lead to what industry watchers say...
Thousands Flee From Uncontrolled Wildfires Burning Near Los Angeles
Jan 8 2025 // Millions of people in California face at least two more days of dry, hot winds that have fanned fires across Los Angeles County and sent residents fleeing for their lives. Hurricane-force wind gusts of as much as 86 miles...
Wildfire Smoke Health Risks Can Linger in Homes That Escape Burning
Jan 2 2025 // (THE CONVERSATION) On Dec. 30, 2021, a wind-driven wildfire raced through two communities just outside Boulder, Colorado. In the span of about eight hours, more than 1,000 homes and businesses burned. The fire left entire...
The War on Wildfires Is Going High-Tech
Dec 27 2024 // Last December, a farmer was burning dry grapevines in his vineyard in Deir Mar Moussa, a hill town a dozen miles east of Beirut known for its 18th century monastery and stands of pine forest. Usually this would be...
Oregon Lawmakers OK $218M in Emergency Wildfire Funding
Dec 17 2024 // Oregon lawmakers approved $218 million in emergency wildfire funds during special session that was convened to address unpaid bills stemming from the state’s 2024 record wildfire season. As wildfires still rage in...
Drones Offer an Unparalleled View of the Biggest Wildfire Risks
Dec 5 2024 // Spotting dead and downed trees that can fuel explosive fires is like searching for a needle in a haystack for forestry crews. Not so for drones, which can survey thousands of acres in a single afternoon, easily accessing...
Californians Pay Billions for Power Companies’ Wildfire Prevention Efforts. Are They Cost-Effective?
Dec 5 2024 // Diane Moss lost her home in the Santa Monica Mountains after power lines ignited the apocalyptic Woolsey Fire in 2018. Since then, she’s pressed for a safer electric grid in California. “It’s so easy to...
More Logging Proposed to Help Curb Wildfires in Pacific Northwest
Nov 20 2024 // U.S. officials would allow increased logging on federal lands across the Pacific Northwest in the name of fighting wildfires and boosting rural economies under proposed changes to a sweeping forest management plan...
California Wildfire Destroys 243 Structures, Cancellation Moratorium Issued
Nov 18 2024 // California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara issued a mandatory one-year moratorium on insurance companies to preserve residential insurance coverage for more than 200,000 policyholders affected by the Mountain Fire,...
Voluntary Evacuations Help Firefighters Contain New York State Forest Wildfire
Nov 18 2024 // A voluntary evacuation of homes over the weekend helped New York firefighters continue their progress in containing a state park wildfire near the New Jersey border. The state requested that residents in about 165 homes in...
Washington Commissioner: Most Homes in 2023 Wildfire Were Underinsured
Nov 18 2024 // An analysis of the claims paid out after the Gray and Oregon Road fires in Washington last year found that most of the homes destroyed were underinsured. The fires destroyed 366 homes, burning more than 20,000 acres...
Fire Crews on Both US Coasts Battle Wildfires; 1 Death in New York-New Jersey Fire
Nov 12 2024 // Fire crews on both coasts of the United States continued battling wildfires on Sunday, including a blaze in New York and New Jersey that killed a parks employee and another in Southern California that destroyed more than...
Containment Increases on California Fire That Has Destroyed 168 Structures
Nov 12 2024 // Firefighters battled strong winds driving a fast-moving Southern California wildfire that forced the evacuations of thousands of people and destroyed at least 168 structures. Containment of the Mountain Fire in Ventura...
California Commissioner: 1-Year Moratorium on Cancellations for Wildfire Victims
Nov 12 2024 // California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara issued a mandatory one-year moratorium on insurance companies to preserve residential insurance coverage for more than 11,000 policyholders affected by the Shelly Fire located...
15 Homes Evacuated as Crews Battle Another Wildfire in New Jersey
Nov 8 2024 // The latest forest fire to break out in New Jersey spurred authorities to evacuate more than a dozen homes Wednesday as crews worked to contain the blaze, but no injuries or property damage has been reported. The New Jersey...
Malibu Retrofit at $300,000 Shows Limits of Wildfire-Prepping
Nov 5 2024 // Evelin Weber and her neighbors fled their Malibu homes as the deadly Woolsey Fire tore across the California coast in 2018. Ever since, haunted by fears of another blaze, she’s spent $300,000 on fireproofing her...
Hawaii Attorney General Probe into Deadly Wildfire Won’t Lead to Criminal Charges
Nov 4 2024 // An investigation by the Hawaii attorney general’s office into the deadliest U.S. wildfire in more than a century, which destroyed most of the historic town of Lahaina, won’t lead to any criminal charges. Hawaii...
Aerospace Startup Partners With NASA, USGS to Monitor Wildfires, Storms From Space
Oct 31 2024 // Aerospace startup Sceye has partnered with NASA and the U.S. Geological Survey to deploy climate management tools to monitor wildfires and storms from the edge of space, the company and the government agencies exclusively...
Washington Commissioner: Most Homes in 2023 Wildfire Were Underinsured
Oct 29 2024 // An analysis of the claims paid out after the Gray and Oregon Road fires in Washington last year found that most of the homes destroyed were underinsured. The fires destroyed 366 homes, burning more than 20,000 acres...
Maui Wildfire Survivors Will Get An Additional Year of Housing Help From FEMA
Oct 18 2024 // Survivors of last year’s deadly wildfire that decimated a historic Maui town will receive an additional year of housing assistance from the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Housing has been a major challenge in...
