Latest Wildfire Headlines
All the headlines from our Wildfire Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Boosting Resilience to U.S. Wildfires Should Be Insurance Industry Priority: I.I.I.
Nov 18 2019 // Nearly a year after the deadliest and costliest wildfire in U.S. history, insurers and the customers they cover are revisiting how to reduce their collective exposure to this risk, according to the Insurance Information...
Wall Street Taking Closer Look at Climate Change Risks
Nov 15 2019 // In the wake of two years of devastating wildfires in California, Wall Street is incorporating a new risk metric when evaluating companies: climate resiliency. Investors, analysts, research firms and companies are putting...
Australia Wildfires Continue to Rage, Destroying Homes, Forcing Evacuations
Nov 14 2019 // Scores of wildfires continued to rage across vast tracts of Australia’s drought-stricken east coast on Wednesday, forcing hundreds of residents to evacuate their homes, some for the second time in a week. The most...
Venice Floods, Australia Wildfires Blamed on Climate Change
Nov 14 2019 // Extreme floods in Venice, fires in Australia and even an outbreak of plague in China have been attributed to climate change this week, while researchers have warned that global warming could saddle future generations with...
PURE Programs Launches California High Wildfire Risk Homeowners Program
Nov 13 2019 // PURE Programs has launched a new High Wildfire Risk Homeowners Insurance program, with coverages for retail insurance brokers serving clients that own high value homes in California at greater-risk of loss from...
Despite Wildfires, California Wine is Doing Just Fine – For Now
Nov 12 2019 // If you’re worried that wildfires might have created shortages of Northern California’s 2019 cabernet sauvignon, or even just imparted it with an undesirable smoky flavor, you can relax. The wine is just fine....
PG&E California Wildfire Victims Sue to Get Paid Before Fire Insurers
Nov 12 2019 // PG&E Corp. wildfire victims have filed a new lawsuit arguing they must be fully repaid for the losses of their homes and businesses before fire insurers are as part of the utility’s bankruptcy. The case takes aim...
PG&E Expecting over $6B in Costs from California Wildfire
Nov 8 2019 // Pacific Gas & Electric is reporting substantial losses for the third quarter, driven by catastrophic wildfires that have been blamed on the utility’s outdated transmission lines. The company anticipates those...
Typhoon Hagibis to Cost Japan’s Economy $10B, with Insured Losses in Billions: Aon
Nov 8 2019 // Typhoon Hagibis is likely to become one of 2019’s costliest events, with economic costs of more than US$10 billion and insured losses minimally in the billions, according to Aon’s monthly catastrophe...
California Town Devastated by Wildfire Rebuilds, But Is It Any Safer a Year Later
Nov 7 2019 // There was “no way in hell” Victoria Sinclaire was rebuilding in Paradise, Calif. She’d thought she was going to die during the six hours it took her to escape the deadliest and most destructive wildfire...
PG&E Extending Deadline for California Wildfire Damage Claims
Nov 6 2019 // Pacific Gas & Electric has agreed to extend by two months the deadline to file claims against the company for damages suffered from a series of wildfires in California. Lawyers for the victims asked to extend the...
Boosting Resilience to U.S. Wildfires Should Be Insurance Industry Priority: I.I.I.
Nov 6 2019 // Nearly a year after the deadliest and costliest wildfire in U.S. history, insurers and the customers they cover are revisiting how to reduce their collective exposure to this risk, according to the Insurance Information...
Quake Confirmed in Northern California Area Burned by Wildfire
Nov 5 2019 // A small earthquake has rattled a Northern California wine region where a huge wildfire was burning, the United States Geological Survey confirmed. The USGS reported the quake with a preliminary magnitude of 4.2 struck at...
Wildfire Season Rages on in Southern California as Thousands Flee
Nov 1 2019 // A wildfire that erupted overnight near Los Angeles has forced 7,500 people to flee as the tail end of a powerful windstorm takes its a final swing at Southern California. The blaze in Ventura County ripped through more...
Australia Faces More Severe Cyclones, Wildfires, Floods as Climate Warms: IAG
Nov 1 2019 // Australia faces the prospect of more severe cyclones, wildfires and floods as the climate warms, the nation’s largest insurer said. A 3 degree Celsius increase in global temperatures will lead to higher intensity...
CEO Greenberg Says Chubb Has Been Able to ‘Reshape Portfolio’ in Wildfire Zones
Nov 1 2019 // Some insurers may be facing sizable risks stemming from the latest round of California wildfires now raging, but Chubb Chairman and CEO Evan Greenberg insists his company isn’t one of them. “We do have a quota...
A.M. Best Says Insurers Challenged by ‘New Normal’ of California Wildfires
Oct 31 2019 // While the number of burned acres in 2019 is still well below the number reported last year through October, experts predict the greatest fire potential will occur from now through December as the Santa Ana winds pick up,...
Groups, Officials Pen Letter to 3 Large California Insurers Asking Them to Ditch Fossil Fuels
Oct 31 2019 // Several dozen activist groups, businesses and elected representatives released a letter on Thursday to the CEOs of Liberty Mutual, AIG and Farmers calling on the three biggest fire insurers in California to stop fueling...
Another $550M in Properties at Immediate Risk in 3 California Blazes, Report Shows
Oct 30 2019 // A catastrophe modeler released figures on Wednesday showing how costly ongoing California blazes could potentially be as blustery winds make for increasingly dangerous fire risk up and down the state. Damages from the...
PG&E Open to Extending California Wildfire Victim Claims Deadline
Oct 29 2019 // PG&E Corp. told a judge it’s willing to extend the deadline for victims of wildfires caused by the utility’s equipment to file claims in its bankruptcy. U.S. District Judge James Donato criticized the...