Latest Wildfire Headlines
All the headlines from our Wildfire Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Texas Lawmaker Sees California Fire Aid Tied to Conditions
Jan 14 2025 // As deadly wildfires continue to rage in Los Angeles, a Republican congressman from Texas says federal lawmakers will consider tying relief funding for California to policy changes in the state. “California has some...
Update: LA Wildfire Insurance-Loss Estimates Approach $40 Billion
Jan 14 2025 // The cost of wildfires ravaging swaths of Los Angeles keeps rising, with new estimates of the total losses for the insurance industry now seen as high as $40 billion. The fresh figure Jan. 14 from Keefe Bruyette & Woods...
California Wildfires Wrapup: Aerial Assault Aims to Stem LA Palisades Fire Spread
Jan 11 2025 // LOS ANGELES, Jan 11 (Reuters) – Aircraft dropped water and fire retardant on steep hills to stem the eastward spread of the Palisades wildfire in Los Angeles on Saturday as on-the-ground firefighting intensified amid...
The Most Important LA Wildfire Stories to Know About
Jan 10 2025 // As firefighters gain more control over what have become the most destructive wildfires in U.S. history in a matter of days, the scale of the destruction and losses is becoming clearer. Despite the cacophony of a world...
Update: Re/Insurer Losses From LA Wildfires Expected to Be Significant but Manageable
Jan 10 2025 // Insurers are facing significant losses from the catastrophic Los Angeles wildfires — given the high value of homes and businesses in the affected communities. However, those losses are likely to be manageable for...
Edison Denies LA Wildfire Involvement as Insurers Ask It to Preserve Evidence
Jan 10 2025 // Southern California Edison said on Thursday it had received notices from insurance companies to preserve evidence related to the Eaton Fire that is still burning in Los Angeles, but said no fire agencies have pointed the...
Insured Losses From Los Angeles Wildfires Rising: $8B to $20B
Jan 9 2025 // Editor’s note: This story has been updated with new AccuWeather total loss estimates. With aerial firefighting returning as strong Southern California winds died down for a bit, damage assessments from a handful of...
Oregon’s New Rules for Homeowners Living in Certain High-Risk Wildfire Areas
Jan 9 2025 // Oregon homeowners living in certain areas at high risk of wildfire will face stricter building codes and mandates to reduce vegetation on their properties under new “wildfire hazard maps” unveiled Tuesday. The...
California Wildfires Will Likely Lead to Large Economic and Insured Losses
Jan 8 2025 // Active wind-driven wildfires in Southern California that are estimated to have burned more than 1,000 properties and prompted evacuation orders for more than 80,000 residents will likely lead to what industry watchers say...
Thousands Flee From Uncontrolled Wildfires Burning Near Los Angeles
Jan 8 2025 // Millions of people in California face at least two more days of dry, hot winds that have fanned fires across Los Angeles County and sent residents fleeing for their lives. Hurricane-force wind gusts of as much as 86 miles...
Wildfire Smoke Health Risks Can Linger in Homes That Escape Burning
Jan 2 2025 // (THE CONVERSATION) On Dec. 30, 2021, a wind-driven wildfire raced through two communities just outside Boulder, Colorado. In the span of about eight hours, more than 1,000 homes and businesses burned. The fire left entire...
The War on Wildfires Is Going High-Tech
Dec 27 2024 // Last December, a farmer was burning dry grapevines in his vineyard in Deir Mar Moussa, a hill town a dozen miles east of Beirut known for its 18th century monastery and stands of pine forest. Usually this would be...
Oregon Lawmakers OK $218M in Emergency Wildfire Funding
Dec 17 2024 // Oregon lawmakers approved $218 million in emergency wildfire funds during special session that was convened to address unpaid bills stemming from the state’s 2024 record wildfire season. As wildfires still rage in...
Drones Offer an Unparalleled View of the Biggest Wildfire Risks
Dec 5 2024 // Spotting dead and downed trees that can fuel explosive fires is like searching for a needle in a haystack for forestry crews. Not so for drones, which can survey thousands of acres in a single afternoon, easily accessing...
Californians Pay Billions for Power Companies’ Wildfire Prevention Efforts. Are They Cost-Effective?
Dec 5 2024 // Diane Moss lost her home in the Santa Monica Mountains after power lines ignited the apocalyptic Woolsey Fire in 2018. Since then, she’s pressed for a safer electric grid in California. “It’s so easy to...
More Logging Proposed to Help Curb Wildfires in Pacific Northwest
Nov 20 2024 // U.S. officials would allow increased logging on federal lands across the Pacific Northwest in the name of fighting wildfires and boosting rural economies under proposed changes to a sweeping forest management plan...
California Wildfire Destroys 243 Structures, Cancellation Moratorium Issued
Nov 18 2024 // California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara issued a mandatory one-year moratorium on insurance companies to preserve residential insurance coverage for more than 200,000 policyholders affected by the Mountain Fire,...
Voluntary Evacuations Help Firefighters Contain New York State Forest Wildfire
Nov 18 2024 // A voluntary evacuation of homes over the weekend helped New York firefighters continue their progress in containing a state park wildfire near the New Jersey border. The state requested that residents in about 165 homes in...
Washington Commissioner: Most Homes in 2023 Wildfire Were Underinsured
Nov 18 2024 // An analysis of the claims paid out after the Gray and Oregon Road fires in Washington last year found that most of the homes destroyed were underinsured. The fires destroyed 366 homes, burning more than 20,000 acres...
Fire Crews on Both US Coasts Battle Wildfires; 1 Death in New York-New Jersey Fire
Nov 12 2024 // Fire crews on both coasts of the United States continued battling wildfires on Sunday, including a blaze in New York and New Jersey that killed a parks employee and another in Southern California that destroyed more than...
