Latest Wildfire Headlines
All the headlines from our Wildfire Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Oregon Wildfire Hazardous Waste Cleanup Complete
Dec 15 2020 // The Environmental Protection Agency said it has completed the cleanup of household hazardous waste from properties burned in Oregon wildfires. The September fires led to an initial EPA response in Jackson County, which...
RMS Says Insured Losses from 2020 Western U.S. Wildfires $7-$13B
Dec 15 2020 // RMS estimates insured losses from the record-breaking western U.S. wildfires this season will be between $7 and $13 billion. These losses reflect estimates as of Dec. 1. The ignition of the highly damaging Glass Fire and...
California Wildfire Survivors Urged to Call FEMA Helpline by Dec. 16
Dec 11 2020 // People with losses due to the California wildfires in Fresno, Los Angeles, Madera, Mendocino, Napa, San Bernardino, San Diego, Shasta, Siskiyou and Sonoma counties have just five days left to register for federal...
Analysts Say Cat Models Would Encourage Wildfire Mitigation Measures
Dec 11 2020 // Predictive modelers told California regulators on Thursday that the state’s antiquated rules for calculating wildfire risk when setting property insurance rates discourage innovative mitigation measures that could...
Family of Pilot Killed Fighting California Wildfire Sues Aircraft Companies
Dec 11 2020 // The family of a veteran helicopter pilot who died when his aircraft crashed as he was dropping water over a California wildfire filed suit Wednesday against the companies that designed and maintained the aircraft. Michael...
2020 Western U.S. Wildfire Season Gave Us Gigafire, Several Massive Blazes
Dec 8 2020 // Want more proof that 2020 will go down as a year we should all try hard to forget about? With some 9 million acres burned in wildfires across Western U.S. this year, and the introduction of a new and terrifying term...
PG&E Rate Hike in California Aimed at Easing Wildfire Risk
Dec 7 2020 // Pacific Gas & Electric’s household customers will be hit with an average rate increase of 8% to help the once-bankrupt utility pay for improvements designed to reduce the risks that its outdated equipment will...
Wind Whips up Wildfire in California Canyons, Residents Flee
Dec 4 2020 // Powerful gusts pushed flames from a wildfire through Southern California canyons on Thursday, one of several blazes that burned near homes and forced residents to flee amid elevated fire risk for most of the region that...
Many Californians Being Left Without Homeowners Insurance Due to Wildfire Risk
Dec 4 2020 // Acquiring home insurance has long been a mundane but necessary chore. In California, for hundreds of thousands of residents, it’s turned into a labyrinthine quest that leaves people with expensive, bare-bones...
California Regulator Raising Concern with PG&E’s Wildfire Safety Measures
Nov 25 2020 // The California Public Utilities Commission has raised concerns over certain deficiencies that it says could affect PG&E Corp.’s ability to provide safe and reliable service, the power provider disclosed in a...
Reno Fire Department Says Wildfire Destroyed 5 Homes, Damaged 24
Nov 20 2020 // Authorities now say five homes were destroyed and 26 damaged by a wind-driven wildfire that roared through a Reno, Nev., neighborhood. Of the homes damaged Tuesday, three were heavily damaged and 21 had minor damage due to...
Several Northern California Agencies Suing PG&E Over 2019 Wildfire
Nov 19 2020 // Sonoma County and several Northern California agencies sued Pacific Gas & Electric Co. on Tuesday over damage caused by a wildfire that burned a large swath of land last year and caused nearly 100,000 people to...
State Farm Fire Prevention Pilot Tests Sensors That Detect Electrical Wiring Defects
Nov 17 2020 // State Farm is sending sensors that can detect hazards in electric wiring to 40,000 homeowners in California, Arizona and Texas as part of a pilot project that will measure potential savings and customer acceptance. Mike...
Declarations
Nov 16 2020 // Kansas Crop Risk “Kansas is having a relatively larger increase in crop risk as a response to a one-degree Celsius warming, compared to the other parts of the country.” — Jisang Yu, assistant professor of...
California’s Wine Country Adapting to Annual Wildfire Threat
Nov 13 2020 // Harvest season in Northern California’s wine country is what dream weddings are made of: ripe grapevines and golden sunsets provide ceremonies an alluring backdrop that every year draws millions of visitors. But...
California Issues Moratorium on Insurers Non-Renewing or Cancelling Following Wildfires
Nov 5 2020 // California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara on Thursday announced a mandatory one-year moratorium on insurance companies non-renewing or cancelling residential property insurance policies, a move he says is aimed at...
Despite Challenges, New Year Will Bring Strong, Stable Industry: Hartwig
Nov 4 2020 // Despite a year of unprecedented challenges and uncertainty and a halting global economic recovery, the insurance industry remains strong, stable, sound and secure. Though below pre-COVID forecasts, major indicators point...
California Pledges to Protect Homeowners from Insurer Withdrawals Due to Wildfires
Nov 2 2020 // California’s insurance commissioner in late October pledged to step up efforts to protect the state’s residents from wildfires and address a pullback of private insurers from the state’s riskiest...
Scientists Want New Framework for Understanding California Wildfire Costs, Risks
Oct 29 2020 // A new report out shows challenges current fire management policies in California, proposes a new framework for understanding the total cost of wildfire in the state and suggests that health impacts from smoke my represent...
Utility in California Slow to Pull Plug Before Wildfire Erupted
Oct 29 2020 // Correction: In an earlier version of this story, the Associated Press misspelled the last name of Orange County Fire Authority Chief Brian Fennessy. Facing extreme wildfire conditions this week that included...
