Latest Wildfire Headlines

All the headlines from our Wildfire Topic Page, ordered by recency.

Sweden Battles 50 Wildfires with Help of Firefighters Across Europe

Jul 23 2018 // As wildfires raging through Sweden exhaust local emergency services, Europe is sending hundreds of people to help contain multiple blazes across the country. France, Germany and Denmark have dispatched more than 100...

Insurance Industry Is Rethinking Cat Modeling After Last Year’s Disasters

Jul 16 2018 // After Hurricane Harvey swept through Texas last August, it not only left behind nearly 50 inches of rain in some areas and an estimated $125 billion in damage, but questions for the insurance industry in terms of how to...

California Wildfire Insurance Policy Notification Bill Signed

Jul 16 2018 // California Gov. Jerry Brown has signed legislation to require insurance companies to let homeowners know whether their policies are sufficient to rebuild or replace their homes after a disaster. Assembly Bill 1799, by...

Will California Wildfires Be Worse This Year?

Jul 13 2018 // As blame for California’s wildfires rises over Sacramento like smoke from last year’s blazes, the state is being forced to confront the possibility that it’ll happen again in 2018. California’s...

California Wildfire Insurance Policy Notification Bill Signed

Jul 10 2018 // California Gov. Jerry Brown has signed legislation to requires insurance companies to let homeowners know whether their policies are sufficient to rebuild or replace their homes after a disaster. Assembly Bill 1799, by...

Florida Wildfire Victims Still Awaiting Housing Aid 2 Weeks Later

Jul 10 2018 // More than 100 people have been waiting for temporary housing for almost two weeks since being displaced by a wildfire that burned through their tiny community in the Florida Panhandle. In a Panama City News Herald report ,...

New, Old Wildfires Rage Amid California Heat Wave

Jul 9 2018 // Firefighters toiled in stifling heat Saturday on the lines of destructive wildfires across the U.S. West, making progress against some blazes while struggling to tame others that have forced evacuations of hundreds of...

California Legislative Special Committee to Consider Wildfire Liability

Jul 6 2018 // California lawmakers may change the standard for determining whether utilities are liable for wildfire damage following the worst wildfire season in state history. Gov. Jerry Brown and legislative leaders said on July 2...

Intensifying Western Wildfires Kept Thousands Away from Home on July 4

Jul 5 2018 // Large wildfires grew across the American West on July 4, keeping thousands of people out of their homes for the July 4 holiday and forcing some strict bans on fireworks to prevent new fires from igniting in the hot, dry...

Wildfire Destroys 100-Plus Colorado Homes, Other Blazes Burning in West

Jul 3 2018 // More than 100 homes in the Colorado mountains were destroyed by a growing wildfire, while hundreds of others across the parched U.S. West remained under evacuations Tuesday. A fire near Fort Garland, roughly 200 miles...

Winds Fan Fast-Moving Northern California Wildfire

Jul 3 2018 // A massive wildfire in rural Northern California has grown in size and has forced evacuations. The fast-moving fire that started over the weekend northwest of Sacramento grew dramatically to about 150 square miles by Monday...

Fear of Wildfires Leads to July Fourth Fireworks Cancellations

Jul 3 2018 // Fire danger across much of the country has prompted cancellation of July 4 fireworks displays. In northern Arizona, Prescott’s fire chief says he’s canceling the town’s Fourth of July fireworks show as...

Kansas Wildfire Efforts Inadequate, Audit Finds

Jul 2 2018 // An audit has found that Kansas doesn’t have money to devote to wildfires and its fire-fighting efforts are inadequate. In Kansas, local government has first responsibility for fighting fires and often have to cover...

California Commissioner Angry at Insurers for Altering Wildfire Bills

Jun 28 2018 // California Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones is irked that the insurance industry has worked to alter legislation he supports that he says is aimed at strengthening consumer protections for wildfire survivors. Senate Bill...

Disaster Declaration Approved for Oklahoma Spring Fires

Jun 27 2018 // President Donald Trump has approved Oklahoma’s request for a disaster designation after wildfires scorched western parts of the state in the spring. Trump approved the declaration Monday and ordered federal...

Dozens of Homes in North Florida Damaged by Wildfire

Jun 27 2018 // A fast-moving wildfire damaged or destroyed dozens of homes in a Florida county. Gov. Rick Scott visited the small coastal community of Eastpoint on Monday to get an update on the damage. Eastpoint is in Franklin County...

Northern California Wildfires Flare up in Heat, High Winds

Jun 26 2018 // Thousands fled their homes as major wildfires encroached on a charred area of Northern California still recovering from severe blazes in recent years, sparking concern the state may be in for another destructive series of...

Legislative Audit: Kansas Wildfire Response Underfunded, Understaffed

Jun 21 2018 // A legislative audit says Kansas’ wildfire suppression system is underfunded and understaffed and operates with a fragmented leadership. The Topeka Capital-Journal reports the audit was ordered after wildfires in 2016...

Hurricane-Proof Home Building Available But Pricey, Slow to Be Adopted

Jun 20 2018 // In a private waterfront resort on the northern tip of Key Largo, nestled between tropical forest and the Caribbean, Eric Soulavy is marketing luxury for the age of climate change: Coastal homes that are all but hurricane...

California Wildfire Survivor Bills Pass Senate Committee

Jun 15 2018 // Four bills sponsored by the California Department of Insurance that the department believes will strengthen consumer protections for wildfire survivors have passed the Senate Insurance Committee with unanimous, bipartisan...