Latest Wildfire Headlines
All the headlines from our Wildfire Topic Page, ordered by recency.
California Fires Will Add to 2017 Insurer Catastrophe Losses, Fitch Says
Nov 20 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...
Disaster Planning for Agencies: Minding Your Business
Nov 20 2017 // Northern California and specifically Sonoma and Napa Counties have experienced the worst wildfires in the history of California. Most of these fires began around Oct. 8, 2017, during night with extremely high winds, that...
Grapes of Wrath: Insurance Fallout from the Wine Country Wildfires
Nov 20 2017 // Now that this October’s wine country fires have been contained, the ravaged San Francisco Bay area countryside can begin the rebuilding process. The effects of the wildfires, however, will be further reaching than...
Someone Else’s Wires May Have Started California Wildfires, PG&E Says
Nov 20 2017 // The deadliest of last month’s wildfires in California’s wine country may have been started by electrical equipment not owned or installed by Pacific Gas and Electric Co., the utility said in a court filing...
Modeler: Insured Losses for California Wildfires Could Reach $10.5B
Nov 16 2017 // Loss estimates for the October California wildfire siege could reach up to $10.5 billion, according to catastrophe modeling firm AIR Worldwide. Boston, Mass.-based AIR on Thursday updated its loss estimates for the recent...
California Utility Blamed in 3 Suits for Deadly Wildfires
Nov 16 2017 // Pacific Gas and Electric Co. was blamed in three lawsuits filed this week for negligence in the wildfires that killed more than 40 people and destroyed over 8,000 homes in Northern California last month. The lawsuits...
Insurers Had Crews Working in Heart of California Wildfires to Prevent Loss
Nov 15 2017 // “It was all hands on deck.” That apt description of the reaction to the deadly outbreak of wildfires that ravaged California in October was from Stephen Poux, global head of risk management and loss prevention...
Wineries Looking to Make Up Losses Following California Wildfires
Nov 15 2017 // A month after deadly wildfires swept through California’s famed wine country, hot-air balloons are floating again over Napa Valley vineyards splashed with fall colors. On the heels of the disaster, a new winery is...
California Wildfires May Lead to $8B in Insured Losses: Aon Benfield
Nov 14 2017 // California’s historic wildfires may lead to as much as $8 billion in insured losses. That’s a record for insurers, according to the October 2017 Global Catastrophe Recap from Aon Benfield’s Impact...
Someone Else’s Wires May Have Started California Wildfires, PG&E Says
Nov 13 2017 // The deadliest of last month’s wildfires in California’s wine country may have been started by electrical equipment not owned or installed by Pacific Gas and Electric Co., the utility said in a court...
New Phase in California Wildfire Cleanup: Clearing Ruins
Nov 13 2017 // Rumbling bulldozers and front-loaders have started scraping up the ash, charred wood and crumbled bricks and concrete left from thousands of homes and buildings destroyed by blazes in California wine country, launching a...
Damaging Southern California Fire Was Lit by Ember From Old Blaze
Nov 9 2017 // A destructive Southern California wildfire this fall was ignited by windblown embers from an oak that was still smoldering after an earlier fire that is believed to have started when a vehicle struck a highway flare,...
Utility in California Expecting $200M in Costs for Power Restoration after Fires
Nov 6 2017 // A California utility expects costs to be as much as $200 million for restoring power after last month’s devastating wildfires. The San Francisco Chronicle reported Friday that Pacific Gas & Electric Co. chief...
California Wildfires Destroyed Part of Hewlett-Packard Archives
Nov 1 2017 // California’s deadliest wildfires have also destroyed an irreplaceable collection of Silicon Valley history. The Santa Rosa Press Democrat reported that more than 100 boxes of letters and other materials from tech...
Insured Losses from California Wildfires Now at $3.3 Billion
Oct 31 2017 // The largest California insurers have so far reported more than $3.3 billion in insured losses from the October wildfire siege, now considered the most destructive fires in state history. Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones...
California Wildfires: May Take Years for Full Recovery
Oct 30 2017 // It will take at least months and likely years to fully recover from devastating wildfires that ripped through Northern California earlier this month, destroying at least 8,900 structures and killing 42 people, Sonoma...
Insured Loss Estimates from California Wildfires Now up to $8 Billion
Oct 27 2017 // Insured losses from the siege of California wildfires could possibly reach $8 billion, according to new estimates released on Friday by catastrophe modeler RMS. The firm now estimates the insured loss for the wildfires...
Government Report Finds Climate Change Costing Taxpayers Billions Each Year
Oct 25 2017 // A non-partisan federal watchdog says climate change is already costing U.S. taxpayers billions of dollars each year, with those costs expected to rise as devastating storms, floods, wildfires and droughts become more...
California’s Wine Industry Taking Stock of Losses After Wildfires
Oct 23 2017 // Although still burning, the largest fires that have devastated California wine country are mostly contained, and winemakers, winery owners, and growers began taking stock this week of what they have—and...
Northern California Wildfires: Insurance Industry Ready to Assist With ‘Massive’ Recovery
Oct 20 2017 // Rebuilding the Northern California areas devastated by wildfire will be a long-term effort, and insurers say they will be there to help their affected policyholders get back on their feet. Tens of thousands of evacuees...
