Latest Wildfire Headlines
All the headlines from our Wildfire Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Climate Change, New Construction Mean More Destructive Wildfires in West
Jan 3 2022 // The winter grassland fire that blew up along Colorado’s Front Range was rare, experts say, but similar events will be more common in the coming years as climate change warms the planet – sucking the moisture out of...
Machine Learning Improves Lightning Prediction, Leading to Insight on a Key Wildfire Spark
Dec 29 2021 // Lightning’s destructive potential was showcased in 2020 when it sparked the massive California Lightning Complex fires, but it remains hard to predict. According to a new study led by the University of Washington,...
Western Kansas Ranches Face Long Recovery after Wildfires
Dec 28 2021 // Ranchers in western Kansas have begun to recover from the deadly wildfires that torched their land earlier this month, but they acknowledge it will be a long process. Two men died and the Kansas Forest Service estimates...
Southern California Edison Faces $550M in Penalties for 5 Wildfires
Dec 20 2021 // California regulators approved a settlement placing more than half a billion dollars in fines and penalties on the utility Southern California Edison for its role in five wildfires in 2017 and 2018. The penalties relate to...
Kansas Wildfires Kill Two
Dec 20 2021 // Two men have died from injuries suffered in wildfires that have burned hundreds of thousands of acres across Kansas last week, authorities said Friday, Dec. 17. Richard Shimanek, 84, a farmer and rancher who lived near...
Oklahoma Wildfire Destroys 5 Homes, 14 Barns
Dec 15 2021 // A wildfire that forced evacuations in rural southwestern Oklahoma last week destroyed five homes, 14 barns and nine vehicles, officials said Monday. Three of the burned homes were unoccupied, said Comanche County Emergency...
Father, Son Charged With Starting Massive California Wildfire Plead Not Guilty
Dec 14 2021 // A father and son charged with starting a massive California wildfire that destroyed many homes and forced tens of thousands of people to flee Lake Tahoe communities earlier this year pleaded not guilty in court. The El...
From Wildfires to Floods, Climate Change Worsens Extreme Weather Across Globe
Dec 13 2021 // Extreme weather events in 2021 shattered records around the globe. Hundreds died in storms and heatwaves. Farmers struggled with drought, and in some cases with locust plagues. Wildfires set new records for carbon...
Evacuation Orders Lifted for Central Colorado Wildfire
Dec 7 2021 // Firefighters made progress containing a 15-acre wildfire in a central Colorado mountain community as authorities lifted evacuation orders Monday for residents who were forced to leave their homes a day earlier. Clear Creek...
14 Insurers Pressing Lawsuit vs. Park Service After Gatlinburg Wildfires
Dec 2 2021 // Fourteen insurance companies are pressing ahead with a lawsuit against the federal government, alleging that the National Park Service did little to stop 2016 wildfires that destroyed dozens of homes and businesses in and...
Some Lessons Learned from Wildfire That Nearly Destroyed Tahoe
Nov 30 2021 // The devastation starts on the western slope. Many of the cabins that once lined the highway between here and Sacramento are now gone. Instead, brick and stone chimneys stand sentinel, visible through blackened toothpick...
Insurtech Startup Kettle Raises $25M to Expand Wildfire Reinsurance Protection
Nov 24 2021 // Kettle, the San Francisco-based reinsurance startup that uses artificial intelligence to better protect people from the growing wildfire risks of climate change, announced it has been reinsuring homes during the 2021...
Former Governor Focuses on Saving California Forests from Wildfires
Nov 15 2021 // As smoke lingered in the air amid another destructive California wildfire season, former Gov. Jerry Brown invited a group to his ranch for an urgent conversation: What more could be done to save California’s forests...
Report: Wildfires Have California in ‘Heightened State of Alert’
Nov 10 2021 // California, which has seen its eight largest recorded wildfires since 2017, is in a “heightened state of alert,” according to a new report that calls for urgent policy actions. The report was released on...
California Remembers 3rd Anniversary of Wildfire That Killed 85, Destroyed Thousands of Homes
Nov 10 2021 // Gov. Gavin Newsom on Monday marked the third anniversary of California’s deadliest and most destructive wildfire by announcing that nearly 100,000 damaged trees have been removed and debris cleaned up from some...
PG&E Spending $125M for Igniting Massive California Wildfire
Nov 5 2021 // Pacific Gas & Electric has reached a $125 million settlement agreement with California regulators over the destructive Kincade fire, which was ignited in 2019 by the utility’s equipment in a remote area of Sonoma...
How Insurers Can Better Prepare for Wildfire
Oct 28 2021 // This post is part of a series sponsored by CoreLogic. Nine of the 20 largest wildfires in California have occurred since 2020, including four so far in 2021. Five of the 19 largest wildfires in Oregon and three of...
Southern California Wildfire Almost Fully Contained, Residents Go Home
Oct 19 2021 // Residents who fled the Alisal Fire west of Santa Barbara have been allowed to return home. All evacuation orders and warnings were canceled Sunday afternoon. The fire was 87% contained Monday morning and its size was...
Guy Carpenter Launches European Wildfire Risk Score as Exposure Management Tool
Oct 18 2021 // Guy Carpenter & Co., the reinsurance business of Marsh McLennan has announced the launch of a Wildfire Risk Score designed to help clients manage their exposure to the evolving risk of wildfire across Europe. The...
Wildfire Destroys School in Small Eastern Washington Town
Oct 15 2021 // A fire has destroyed a school in an eastern Washington town. Lincoln County Sheriff Wade Magers said the fire at Almira Elementary and Middle School started around 4:30 p.m. Tuesday. Classes and after school activities had...
