Latest Wildfire Headlines

All the headlines from our Wildfire Topic Page, ordered by recency.

Another Bad Year For Arizona Wildfires Could Return

Mar 5 2012 // Conditions that pushed fire through a million acres of Arizona grassland and forest last year could return this spring to Southern Arizona. The warnings are out, and some early fires have already proved difficult to...

Pitney Bowes Develops Wildfire Risk Software

Feb 15 2012 // Pitney Bowes Software has released the Pitney Bowes Risk Data Suite Software Bundle for property and casualty insurers. The company says this is the first national wildfire software product for the insurance sector. It...

Georgia’s Warm, Dry Weather Could Bring Busy Wildfire Season

Feb 9 2012 // With forecasters predicting an early spring in southeast Georgia, forestry officials are gearing up for what could be an early start to a fire season they fear could be a repeat of 2011. Three large fires torched nearly...

Hailstorms, Heat and Wildfires Made 2011 a Rough Year in Texas

Jan 24 2012 // With weather forecasters issuing severe weather alerts for Texas as a slow moving cold front rolls across the state, many Texans may be reminded of the natural forces in 2011 that destroyed lives and property in all...

Reno Wildfire That Destroyed 29 Homes Contained

Jan 23 2012 // The wildfire that destroyed 29 homes near Reno is contained. Thousands of evacuees are back home. And the family of the woman found dead says there’s no point in prosecuting the remorseful man who accidentally...

Report Suggests Arizona Wildfire Was Accident

Jan 17 2012 // A government report suggests that someone working for a proposed silver mine accidentally started a wildfire last year in the Patagonia Mountains. The Arizona Daily Star reports that the report by the U.S. Forest Service...

RiskMeter.com Adds Texas Wildfire Report to Service

Jan 11 2012 // RiskMeter.com, a provider of real-time natural hazard risk reports, has added a Texas wildfire report to its service. This report will return a property’s proximity to wildfire risk by simply entering an address or...

Texas Governor Renews Drought Disaster Declaration

Jan 9 2012 // Gov. Rick Perry has renewed a proclamation declaring Texas a disaster due to the drought. Perry renewed the proclamation on Dec. 27, a year after he initially declared the drought a disaster. The proclamation allows...

Crews Gaining Ground on Blackfeet Reservation Wildfires in Montana

Jan 6 2012 // A pair of wildfires fueled by strong wind gusts that burned buildings and forced the evacuation of hundreds on Montana’s Blackfeet Indian Reservation were helped by milder weather conditions on Thursday as...

FEMA Expands Wildfires Declaration to 119 Texas Counties

Dec 16 2011 // The Federal Emergency Management Agency has expanded its wildfires disaster declaration area for Texas to include 119 counties. Gov. Rick Perry announced that FEMA has granted the state’s request to increase the...

FEMA: Texas Wildfire Survivors Should Consider Flood Insurance

Dec 15 2011 // Flood protection might be the last concern of Texas wildfire survivors these days. Yet Texans — even those who live in areas not rated at high risk of flooding — should consider purchasing a flood insurance policy now,...

Insured Losses from Bastrop, Texas, Wildfire Rise to $325M

Dec 8 2011 // More than half of the homeowner insurance claims have been settled in the Bastrop (Texas) Complex Wildfire that occurred over the Labor Day weekend. The final tally for insured losses from the wildfire is projected to hit...

Report Links Wildfires to Immigrants in Arizona

Dec 5 2011 // A study by Congress’ investigative arm issued in late November shows investigators have linked 30 fires that erupted in a five-year period in Arizona’s border region to people who crossed into the United States...

Report Links Wildfires to Immigrants in Arizona

Nov 23 2011 // A study by Congress’ investigative arm shows investigators have linked 30 fires that erupted in a five-year period in Arizona’s border region to people who crossed into the United States illegally — a...

Nevada Declares Emergency Over Wildfire

Nov 18 2011 // Nevada Gov. Brian Sandoval on Friday declared a state of emergency associated with the Caughlin Ranch fire, which has so far reportedly destroyed 20 structures, forced 9,500 people from their homes and was blamed for the...

Fourmile Fire Insurance Losses Exceed $200 Million

Nov 7 2011 // A preliminary report on the 2010 Fourmile Canyon wildfire in Boulder County shows insured losses exceeded $200 million, and the fire spread fast and burned intensely due to the area it was in and the large amount of...

Report on Colorado’s Fourmile Fire: Insurance Losses Exceed $200 Million

Oct 14 2011 // A preliminary report on the 2010 Fourmile Canyon wildfire in Boulder County shows insured losses exceeded $200 million, fire management costs will have exceeded $14 million following rehabilitation efforts, and that while...

Power Line Sparks Likely Caused Bastrop, Texas, Blaze

Oct 3 2011 // Sparks from electric power lines likely started the blaze that became the most destructive wildfire in Texas history, fire officials said. The Sept. 4 blaze began near Bastrop about 25 miles east of Austin, destroying more...

Safe as Houses?

Oct 3 2011 // Safe as houses. That’s an expression I’ve never quite understood. In light of the catastrophic events of 2011, the phrase is especially confusing. How safe are houses – from wildfires, hurricanes,...

Agriculture Losses from Texas Wildfires Adding Up

Sep 30 2011 // In addition to the $5.2 billion in agricultural losses as a result of the drought in Texas this year, an additional $150 million in losses can be attributed to wildfires, according to state agriculture experts. Dr. Andy...