Latest Wildfire Headlines
All the headlines from our Wildfire Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Wind Threat Remains as Crews Gain on Huge California Wildfire
Dec 13 2017 // After achieving increased containment on one of the biggest wildfires in California history, officials warned that communities remain at risk and the threat could increase as unpredictable winds whip up again. Red Flag...
California Commissioner Wants Halt to Moratoriums in Wildfire Areas
Dec 12 2017 // California Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones has issued a formal notice to insurers directing them to cease any and all moratoriums on auto insurance and reminding them that California law prohibits the practice. Jones...
It’ll Take Time for P/C Insurers’ Profits to Rebound After 2017 Storms, Wildfires: Fitch
Dec 11 2017 // U.S. property/casualty insurers will rebound in 2018 from the late-2017 onslaught of hurricanes and wildfires, but it will take a while to return to “significant underwriting profits,” Fitch Ratings predicted...
FBI Keeping an Eye on Fraud in Northern California Fire Recovery
Dec 8 2017 // The FBI is joining efforts to prevent fraud related to Northern California wildfire recovery efforts. Nearly two dozen blazes ripped through the region in mid-October, destroying 8,800 structures and 245,000 acres of land....
Report: 86K-plus Homes at Some Risk Level in Southern California Wildfires
Dec 8 2017 // A total of 86,242 homes in Ventura and Los Angeles counties with a combined reconstruction cost value of $27.7 billion are at some level of risk from the Thomas, Rye and Creek Wildfires, according to a CoreLogic report...
How A Dry Spell Allowed Winds to Lash California With Flames
Dec 8 2017 // The hot, dry Santa Ana winds whipping up the unseasonably fierce wildfires ravaging Southern California have come at the worst time, at the end of a long dry spell. The combination of savage Santa Anas and tinder-dry...
Los Angeles Wildfires Close Roads, Threaten Crops, Force Evacuations
Dec 7 2017 // Wildfires raging across Southern California have shut a major commuter artery in Los Angeles, suspended filming, wiped out more than $3 billion of market value for regional utility Edison International and are threatening...
California Wildfire Claims Now Top $9.4B, Department of Insurance Says
Dec 6 2017 // California Commissioner Dave Jones announced on Wednesday that total of insured losses from the wildfires in California in October now top $9.4 billion in residential and commercial claims. The latest figure is near the...
Southern California Fires Prompt Evacuations of Thousands from Homes
Dec 6 2017 // Ferocious Santa Ana winds raking Southern California whipped explosive wildfires Tuesday, prompting evacuation orders for thousands of homes. The biggest blaze broke out Monday in Ventura County and grew wildly to more...
RenaissanceRe: $90M Estimated Net Negative Impact from California Wildfires
Dec 6 2017 // RenaissanceRe Holdings Ltd. said it estimates that losses from the October 2017 California Wildfires will have a net negative impact of $90 million on its fourth quarter 2017 results of operations. The October 2017...
Another California Utility Loses Billions in Value as Wildfire Rages
Dec 6 2017 // Once again, thousands are fleeing a wildfire in California. And, once again, the worry on Wall Street is that a major electric utility might end up on the hook for the damages. Shares of Edison International plunged the...
La Nina Adds to Wildfire Threat in South Central, Plains States
Dec 4 2017 // Conditions are ripe for winter wildfires from the mid-South through the Great Plains thanks to a combination of weather factors, including the climate phenomenon known as La Nina, that have left a lot of dry growth. In...
California Seeking $4.4B in Federal Aid for Wildfires
Dec 4 2017 // California’s 53 U.S. House members are requesting $4.4 billion in federal aid to help the state recover from its deadliest wildfires ever. That’s down sharply from the $7.4 billion originally sought by Gov....
California Fires Will Add to 2017 Insurer Catastrophe Losses, Fitch Says
Dec 4 2017 // No U.S. reinsurance companies in Fitch Rating’s rated universe are expected to be downgraded as a result of losses from the California wildfires alone, but for a number of companies the impact of wildfire losses adds...
Drone Prompts Diversion of Arkansas Wildfire Surveillance Plane
Dec 1 2017 // Forestry officials diverted a surveillance plane from its assigned path because a drone hovered above a northern Arkansas wildfire, prompting them to caution people that airborne efforts to take unique photographs endanger...
Fallout for PG&E from California Wildfire Could Have Been Limited by Vote
Dec 1 2017 // California regulators rejected a request by a San Diego utility to bill customers for a decade-old wildfire, even as they made clear their decision shouldn’t necessarily be seen as a precedent for last month’s...
Woman Staying in Hotel During Tennessee Wildfires Claims PTSD in Lawsuit
Dec 1 2017 // A Tennessee woman who checked in to a hotel as deadly wildfires raged nearby says in a lawsuit that she was terrified she would die in the hotel and is suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder because of the...
Chubb Expects $320 Million in Q4 Catastrophe Losses Including California Wildfires
Nov 30 2017 // Chubb Limited reported a preliminary loss estimate for the fourth quarter from natural catastrophes, including the California wildfires, of approximately $320 million pre-tax, or $249 million after tax. Chubb said its...
Wildfire Risk High Remains in Arkansas
Nov 29 2017 // State forestry officials say the risk for wildfires remains high throughout Arkansas as dry conditions persist. The Arkansas Forestry Commission says firefighters have suppressed more than 100 wildfires since Thanksgiving....
California Policyholders Have 24 Months to Collect Wildfire Insurance Money
Nov 22 2017 // California’s insurance commissioner says homeowners who lost their homes in last month’s wildfires in Northern California have up to 24 months to collect insurance payments. Dave Jones said this week some...
