Latest Wildfire Headlines
All the headlines from our Wildfire Topic Page, ordered by recency.
West Texas Wildfire Destroys 7 Homes
Feb 2 2016 // An official says a wildfire destroyed seven homes in a rural area near the West Texas town of Eula. Meanwhile, a wildfire burned almost 3 square miles of ranch land north of Amarillo. The fires, which both started on Jan....
Multi-Year Trend of Reduced Natural Hazard Activity Continues in 2015
Feb 1 2016 // This post is part of a series sponsored by CoreLogic. Low-Level Hazard Activity Results in Decreased Damage and Loss Totals Looking at the big picture, 2015 was a quiet year in terms of natural hazard activity. Overall,...
Record Western Wildfires a Contrast in Otherwise Quiet Year for U.S. Natural Disasters
Jan 28 2016 // It was a relatively quiet year for natural disasters – except for those living in the Western U.S. Property data provider CoreLogic today released its annual Natural Hazard Risk Summary and Analysis. The report shows...
Insurance Department Tally on California Wildfires $1B
Jan 26 2016 // Damage from two destructive Northern California wildfires that killed six and sent thousands fleeing their homes topped $1 billion in insured losses, according to a preliminary estimate by the state’s insurance...
Officials: Arkansas Wildfires Burned 14,652 Acres in 2015
Jan 11 2016 // Arkansas forestry officials say wildfires engulfed fewer acres in 2015 when compared to the previous year. Data released by the Arkansas Forestry Commission on Friday said 14,652 acres burned last year, compared to 16,687...
California Fire Safety Rule Citations Lag During Severe Drought
Jan 4 2016 // Amid the most destructive wildfire season in more than a decade, California’s firefighting agency amped up its warnings to thousands of property owners who weren’t doing enough to protect their homes by...
‘Average’ Would Describe Wyoming Wildfire Season, Forester Says
Dec 31 2015 // Wyoming firefighters put out a typical number of wildfires in 2015 despite a surge in blazes nationwide. The Casper Star-Tribune reported that Wyoming state forester Bill Crapser says the state’s weather...
California Wildfire Contained, Now Comes Worries About Landslides
Dec 29 2015 // As firefighters mopped up the remains of a wildfire on the Southern California coast, authorities turned their focus to a new concern: a landslide if rain pounds the charred hills. In a heavy rain, the denuded soil could...
Australia Wildfire Insurance Losses Double to A$53 Million ($38 Million)
Dec 29 2015 // Losses from wildfires that destroyed more than 100 homes along a popular tourist stretch in southeastern Australia more than doubled in two days to A$53 million ($38 million) and are expected to climb further, the...
At Least $243M for Cleanup From 2 Massive California Fires
Dec 21 2015 // Cleaning up from two destructive Northern California wildfires this fall will cost at least $243 million, far exceeding the cost for other recent blazes, state officials estimated as they transferred more money from the...
Report: Southeast States Unprepared for Future Risks from Climate Change
Dec 11 2015 // Source: States at Risk Many states across the country, particularly in the Southeast, are unprepared to face the risks posed from extreme heat, drought, wildfires, inland flooding, coastal flooding and other extreme...
Report: Southeast States Not Prepared for Future Risks from Climate Change
Dec 7 2015 // Many states across the country, particularly in the Southeast, are unprepared to face the risks posed from extreme heat, drought, wildfires, inland flooding, coastal flooding and other extreme weather events, according to...
States Graded ‘A’ to ‘F’ for Extreme Weather Preparedness
Nov 20 2015 // Many states across the country are unprepared to face the risks posed extreme heat, drought, wildfires, inland flooding, coastal flooding and other extreme weather events, according to a new report card. Only a small...
Report: Texas Failing in Assessing, Preparing for Climate Threats
Nov 18 2015 // Texas is failing in assessing and preparing for environmental threats posed by climate change, according to a new report. A recently released study by Climate Central and ICF International, States At Risk: America’s...
Wildfires, and Now El Niño, May Boost Californians’ Appetites for Surplus Lines
Nov 16 2015 // There’s little question that the drought and the recent wildfire season that it unleashed pushed more California homeowners into the surplus lines market. Now with what appears to be a strong El Niño on the horizon...
Paper Fingers Climate Change for California Wildfires
Nov 12 2015 // There was a bit of hesitation from National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration scientist Stephanie C. Herring when she was asked questions about the increased risk and the implications of that risk for the insurance...
Wildfires, and Now El Niño May Boost Californian’s Appetites for Surplus Lines
Nov 3 2015 // There’s little question that the drought and the recent wildfire season that it unleashed pushed more California homeowners into the surplus lines market. Now with the onset of what appears to be a strong El Niño...
Guy Carpenter Says Wildfire Losses May Exceed $1.75B
Nov 2 2015 // A briefing from Guy Carpenter & Company, LLC in late October shows more than 9 million acres were burned by wildfires so far this year, most of that occurring in the Western U.S, and that insured losses from wildfires...
Wildfires Threat in Texas Increased Over Past 15 Years
Oct 30 2015 // Larger, more threatening wildfires are occurring at greater rates as Texas faces lingering drought, consistent development — driven by millions of new residents and the spread of outlying suburbs — and changes in how...
SBA Offers Low-interest Wildfire Disaster Loans to Washington Businesses
Oct 30 2015 // The U.S. Small Business Administration is offering low-interest disaster loans to Washington businesses, nonprofits and residents affected by the wildfires. The federal agency has declared its own disaster declaration to...
