Latest Wildfire Headlines
All the headlines from our Wildfire Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Survey: Majority of October’s California Wildfire Claims Settled
May 5 2008 // A new survey of insurance companies estimated that nearly 90 percent of claims stemming from the devastating October 2007 fire and wind storms in California have been settled. A poll by the Insurance Information Network of...
Homes, Schools Threatened as Fires Scorch Nevada, Arizona and California
May 1 2008 // Firefighters had to contend with gale-force winds while battling a huge brush fire that raced along the edge of a valley south of Reno, forcing a major highway to close, threatening homes, and causing the evacuation of a...
Wildfire Near Los Angeles Forces 1,000 to Evacuate Homes
Apr 30 2008 // Crews overcame a threatening flare-up Monday and worked to halt a wildfire east of Los Angeles that has sent 1,000 people fleeing their homes. Water-dropping aircraft were back in the air April 28 to complement ground...
Experts Say Potential for Arizona Wildfires Extreme
Apr 30 2008 // Wildland fire officials are warning of a potential disaster in southeastern Arizona. Fire behavior analysts with the Eastern Arizona Incident Management Team say the potential for extreme wildfire conditions are the worst...
100 Homes Evacuated as Wildfire Burns Near Pasadena, Calif.
Apr 28 2008 // A wildfire that has scorched 270 acres and forced the evacuation of about 100 homes in neighborhoods near Pasadena might not be under control for days, officials said Sunday. Firefighters originally had hoped to have the...
Fewer Tennessee Wildfires as Season Winds Down
Apr 25 2008 // As the wildfire season winds down in Tennessee, officials say it has been much less active than last year’s. Forestry Division assistant district forester Nathan Waters said by the week ending April 19, about 9,000...
Firefighters Brace for Windy Conditions in New Mexico
Apr 23 2008 // Nine homes, nine outbuildings and two recreational vehicles were destroyed after a 3,745-acre fire went on a nail-biting run between the towns of Manzano and Torreon, N.M., fire officials said. Wind-driven flames jumped a...
Survey: Majority of October’s California Wildfire Claims Settled
Apr 23 2008 // A new survey of insurance companies estimates that nearly 90 percent of claims stemming from the devastating October 2007 fire and wind storms in California have been settled. A poll by the Insurance Information Network of...
North Carolina Wildfire Burns for 2 Days, Causes Evacuations
Mar 31 2008 // Smoke from a wildfire burning for two days in North Carolina’s Sauratown Mountain has clouded the skies over Stokes County, and the fire marshal said the blaze led to several evacuations. Fire Marshal Brad Cheek said...
California Tahoe Fire Commission Wants Federal Aid
Mar 24 2008 // A commission created after a Lake Tahoe blaze destroyed more than 250 California homes voted unanimously to seek state and federal emergency declarations to combat what it says is an imminent threat of catastrophic...
Study Reports on Costly 2007 Wildfire Season
Mar 10 2008 // With a potential $2.5 billion in insured losses in California alone, last year ranks as one of the costliest wildfire seasons in recent history, according to Risk Management Solutions’ (RMS) and ImageCat Inc.’s...
Update: Residents of West Texas Town Moving on after Fire Scare
Feb 28 2008 // Spared the wrath of a fast-moving wildfire that shifting winds turned elsewhere, thankful residents of this small West Texas town worked Tuesday to get back in their routine. Schools were closed for the day but expected to...
Hundreds Evacuated as Thousands of Acres Burn across Texas
Feb 27 2008 // Firefighters across West and Central Texas continued to battle wildfires Tuesday that burned at least 200,000 acres, injured several people and forced the temporary evacuation of the 1,500 residents of Robert Lee, Texas,...
Virginia Wildfires Drained State Funds
Feb 26 2008 // Two weeks into spring fire season, the Virginia Department of Forestry already has spent its entire 2008 funds for firefighting. Spokesman John Campbell tells the Richmond Times-Dispatch that early estimates suggest the...
RMS and ImageCat Report on Costly 2007 Wildfire Season
Feb 21 2008 // Risk Management Solutions (RMS) and ImageCat, Inc., issued a joint research report Wednesday on the 2007 U.S. wildfire season. With a potential $2.5 billion in insured losses in California alone, last year ranks as one of...
Conditions Create Wildfire Threat in N.C., 14,000 Acres already Burned
Feb 20 2008 // High winds and low humidity will create critical fire conditions across parts of central and western North Carolina. The National Weather Service issued a red flag warning from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesday across areas in the...
People Flee as Fires in Rain-Starved Carolinas, Va. Burn Homes
Feb 12 2008 // Wind-whipped wildfires chased churchgoers from worship, forced hundreds of residents to flee homes and closed highways across the rain-starved Carolinas and Virginia on Sunday. Twelve small structures, including at least...
U.S. Disaster Plan Takes Lessons From Katrina, Calif.’s Wildfires
Feb 10 2008 // Streamlined document called ‘essential tool for emergency managers’ in public and private sectors The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has released a new comprehensive disaster plan for the country that...
Fires Flare in Texas While Cleanup Starts on Burned Homes, Businesses
Feb 1 2008 // A day after wildfires burned almost 30 square miles across Texas, a few more blazes sprang up Jan. 30 while victims sifted through the charred remnants of their homes. Gary Karr spent the day moving debris from his...
Allstate 4Q Profit Falls 37% as Calif. Wildfire Losses Top $300M
Jan 31 2008 // Hit by an increase in catastrophe losses, Northbrook, Ill.-based insurer Allstate Corp. saw its profit drop by more than 37 percent in the fourth quarter of 2007 compared to the same period in 2006. The fourth quarter net...
