Latest Wildfire Headlines
All the headlines from our Wildfire Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Viewpoint: Wildfires Should be California’s No. 1 Priority When it Comes to Climate Change
Nov 3 2022 // In an Executive Order dated September 25, California Gov. Gavin Newsom directed all agencies of state government to double down on their efforts to address climate change. The governor, state agencies and the Legislature...
Commissioner Says 2021 Colorado Wildfire Losses Surpass $2B
Oct 31 2022 // A wildfire that destroyed nearly 1,100 homes and businesses in suburban Denver last winter caused more than $2 billion in losses, making it by far the costliest in Colorado history, the state insurance commissioner...
Missouri Town ‘Devastated’ by Wildfire
Oct 26 2022 // WOOLDRIDGE, Mo. (AP) – Roughly half of a small Missouri town burned Saturday after a wildfire spread quickly from a farm field and destroyed or heavily damaged 23 buildings, officials said. No one died and only one...
Rural New Mexico Eyes Insurance Fight Amid Wildfires
Oct 26 2022 // ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) – Manuel and Marcy Silva combed through the charred rubble that used to be their home, searching for any salvageable bits in the wake of the largest wildfire in New Mexico history. Manuel found two...
Nebraska Sandhills Wildfire More Than Half Contained
Oct 6 2022 // A destructive Nebraska Sandhills wildfire that saw one firefighter die while fighting the flames was more than half contained by Wednesday, officials said. The size of the Bovee Fire in west-central Nebraska was mapped...
Nebraska Wildfire Razes Camp, Prompts Evacuation
Oct 5 2022 // A wildfire that exploded in size in drought-stricken central Nebraska has destroyed much of a youth campsite and led officials to evacuate a nearby village. The Bovee Fire was initially reported as having burned around 100...
Ex-PG&E Execs Paying $117M To Settle California Wildfires Lawsuit
Oct 3 2022 // Former executives and directors of Pacific Gas & Electric have agreed to pay $117 million to settle a lawsuit over devastating 2017 and 2018 California wildfires sparked by the utility’s equipment. The settlement...
US Starts Criminal Probe Into PG&E Role in California Wildfire
Sep 27 2022 // Federal officials have initiated a criminal investigation into PG&E Corp.’s potential role in starting California’s largest wildfire of the year. On Sept. 24, the US Forest Service removed one of the...
California Commissioner Orders Another Insurance Cancellation Moratorium for Wildfire
Sep 22 2022 // California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara on Thursday ordered insurance companies to preserve residential insurance coverage following Gov. Gavin Newsom’s latest wildfire emergency declarations. Lara’s...
Are you accurately assessing wildfire risk? Why granular data and foundational science matter
Sep 19 2022 // This post is part of a series sponsored by CoreLogic. Climate change is having an impact on natural hazards all around the world — wildfires are more frequent, larger, and more intense than they have been in the past....
California Funding Research to Develop New Wildfire Defense Tools
Sep 19 2022 // The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection is funding research to better predict who wildfires spread from burning wildlands to communities. CalFire awarded Worcester Polytechnic Institute researchers Albert...
California Commissioner Orders Insurance Cancellation Moratorium for new Wildfire
Sep 16 2022 // California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara on Friday ordered insurers to preserve residential insurance coverage following Gov. Gavin Newsom’s latest emergency declaration over as another major wildfire threatens...
Threat from Western Wildfires Persists Despite Help of Weather
Sep 12 2022 // Firefighters made progress against a huge Northern California wildfire that was still growing and threatening thousands of mountain homes on Sunday, while crews also battled major blazes that blanketed large swaths of...
California Company Says Machine Failure May Have Caused Wildfire
Sep 9 2022 // A wood products company said that it is investigating whether a fire that killed two people as it swept through a Northern California town was caused by the possible failure of a water-spraying machine used to cool ash at...
California Commissioner Wants Discounts from Insurers in New Wildfires Framework
Sep 7 2022 // California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara on Wednesday submitted an insurance pricing regulation to the California Office of Administrative Law to recognize and reward wildfire safety and mitigation efforts made by...
Wildfire Threatens Homes, Cabins Near Lake in Idaho
Sep 7 2022 // Roughly 200 people were told to evacuate and sheriff’s deputies were trying to track down campers and other recreationists after a wildfire exploded in Idaho’s scenic Sawtooth National Forest over the long...
Judge Tosses Charge Against Dive Boat Owner in California Fire That Killed 34
Sep 7 2022 // A Los Angeles federal judge threw out an indictment charging a dive boat captain with manslaughter in the deaths of 34 people in a 2019 fire aboard a vessel anchored off the Southern California coast. The ruling came on...
California Wildfires Lead to Evacuations Amid Heat Wave
Sep 1 2022 // California wildfires erupted Wednesday in rural areas, racing through bone-dry brush and prompting evacuations as the state sweltered under a heat wave that could last through Labor Day. Gov. Gavin Newsom declared a state...
Oregon Wildfire Threatening over 7,000 Structures
Aug 31 2022 // The Rum Creek Fire in remote southwest Oregon has burned nearly 18.75 square miles is threatening thousands of homes and is only about 1% contained. As of Tuesday morning, the Northwest Interagency Coordination Center said...
Record-Setting Wildfire in New Mexico Declared Contained
Aug 25 2022 // More than four grueling months and $300 million later, the federal government has declared the largest wildfire in New Mexico’s recorded history 100% contained, a notable milestone but just another step in what local...
