Latest Wildfire Headlines
All the headlines from our Wildfire Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Drought-Hit Oklahoma Under Rare National Fire Advisory
Feb 3 2017 // Oklahoma has been placed under a national fire advisory as much of the state struggles with unrelenting drought and tinder-dry vegetation capable of igniting and quickly spreading out of control, state forestry officials...
Flooding and Damaging Wind Were Most Destructive Natural Hazards in 2016
Feb 2 2017 // This post is part of a series sponsored by CoreLogic. Annual Summary from CoreLogic Details 2016 Natural Hazard Events CoreLogic® analyzes and evaluates the number and severity of natural hazard events that occurred...
Wildfires in Central Oklahoma Destroy Homes, Damage Structures
Jan 26 2017 // Authorities say at least two homes were destroyed in a fast-moving wildfire that burned in central Oklahoma on Tuesday. Wildfires, fueled by dry vegetation and strong winds, also damaged or destroyed other structures in...
Arkansas Had More than 1,200 Wildfires Last Year
Jan 23 2017 // Arkansas forestry officials say 2016 was a relatively quiet year for wildfires, but the fires still burned nearly 30 square miles in the state. The Arkansas Forestry Commission says there was a total of 1,248 wildfires...
Tornadoes, Hurricanes and Fires… Oh My! Southeast Weathers Tough 2016
Jan 23 2017 // It is fair to say 2016 was the year of the catastrophe in the Southeast. Tornadoes, drought, floods, hurricanes and wildfires impacted virtually every state in the region. For the insurance industry, these events made for...
California Wholesalers Conference Tackled Everything from Marijuana to Trump
Jan 23 2017 // How legalized marijuana and President-elect Donald Trump will affect the insurance industry. A possible merger of the nation’s two major excess and surplus lines organizations. Renewing the National Flood Insurance...
Tennessee Wildfire Insurance Claims Top $842M
Jan 23 2017 // State officials say insurance claims have topped $842 million in the deadly eastern Tennessee wildfires that burned thousands of buildings. The Knoxville News Sentinel reported the number, provided the Tennessee Department...
Team Formed to Review How Wildfire Spread to Tennessee Tourist City
Jan 19 2017 // Authorities are forming a team to investigate the massive fires that tore through a Tennessee tourist city late last year, killing 14 people. The team will be made up of representatives from the Park Service, the U.S....
California Wholesalers Conference Tackled Everything from Marijuana to Trump
Jan 12 2017 // How legalized marijuana and President-elect Donald Trump will affect the insurance industry, a possible merger of the nation’s two major excess and surplus lines organizations, renewing the National Flood Insurance...
Tornadoes, Hurricanes and Fires… Oh My! 2016 A Rough Year for the Southeast
Jan 11 2017 // It is fair to say 2016 was the year of the catastrophe in the Southeast. Tornadoes, drought, floods, hurricanes, and wildfires impacted virtually every state in the region. For the insurance industry, these events made for...
Deadly California Fire Has Artists, Officials Clashing over Safety of Venues
Dec 27 2016 // The party is over at Purple 33. About a week after 36 people died in a fire at an underground music party in Oakland, inspectors acting on a complaint discovered a makeshift nightclub and unpermitted living quarters...
Young Victim’s Family Brings First Suit in Deadly California Fire
Dec 27 2016 // The parents of a 20-year-old college student who died in the arms of her boyfriend in Oakland’s deadly warehouse fire filed the first lawsuit Friday in the disaster, blaming the building’s owner, chief tenant...
Dolly Parton Telethon Raises $9M for Tennessee Wildfire Victims
Dec 20 2016 // Dolly Parton says a star-studded telethon for those affected by recent wildfires in her native Tennessee has brought in about $9 million. Parton headlined the event on Dec. 13 that was broadcast on several cable networks...
Tennessee Wildfire Damage Estimated at $500M
Dec 15 2016 // Deadly wildfires caused more than $500 million in damage as they tore through a tourism community in the foothills of the Great Smoky Mountains and killed 14 people, local officials estimated Tuesday. Sevier County Mayor...
Tennessee Gov Asks Obama to Expedite Disaster Declaration for Storms, Wildfires
Dec 14 2016 // Tennessee’s governor has sent a request to President Barack Obama to expedite a major disaster declaration for five of the state’s counties to aid in recovery from wildfires and severe storms. The counties...
Dolly Parton Organizing Telethon for Wildfire Victims in Tennessee
Dec 12 2016 // Country icon Dolly Parton has organized a musical telethon to raise money for victims of the Tennessee wildfires that destroyed more than 1,700 homes in the resort town of Gatlinburg. The event, which will air Dec. 13 on...
Tennessee Wildfires That Killed 14 Allegedly Started by 2 Juveniles
Dec 9 2016 // Authorities on Wednesday charged two juveniles in an East Tennessee wildfire that killed 14 people and destroyed or damaged more than 1,700 buildings in an iconic tourism spot at the foot of the Great Smoky...
Businesses Unharmed in Tennessee City Devastated by Wildfires Set to Reopen
Dec 7 2016 // Chirping and beeping filled the air as Marion Paul fired up her Gatlinburg video arcade Monday, the first time she’s seen her business since deadly wildfires set much of the city ablaze a week ago. Sooty floors...
Tennessee Insurance Department Works With Insurers to Pinpoint Wildfire Claims
Dec 7 2016 // Devastating wildfires that have hit the state of Tennessee, particularly in the City of Gatlinburg, have caused widespread damage, with 656 claims reported to the Tennessee Department of Commerce and Insurance (TDCI) as of...
Residents Return to Tennessee City Demolished by Fire
Dec 5 2016 // Burned structures are seen from aboard a National Guard helicopter near Gatlinburg, Tenn., Tuesday, Nov. 29, 2016. Thousands of people raced through a hell-like landscape to escape wildfires that killed several people and...
