Latest Wildfire Headlines
All the headlines from our Wildfire Topic Page, ordered by recency.
California Wants Insurers to Reimburse Costs for Those Displaced by Wildfires
Sep 3 2020 // California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara issued a notice to all California property/casualty insurance companies urging them to cover additional living expenses for policyholders who remain under mandatory evacuation...
California Wildfire Bills Expire as Legislature Recesses, But One Bill Expected to Return
Sep 2 2020 // Several major wildfire bills were left on the table when the California Legislature ended its session earlier this week, but one bill is expected to make a comeback in some form. Assembly Bill 2167, authored by Assemblyman...
Colorado Forest Service Launches County-by-County Wildfire Risk Index
Sep 1 2020 // The Colorado State Forest Service has launched a wildland-urban interface risk index. The county-by-county index uses housing density combined with modeled fire behavior to determine where the greatest potential impact to...
Firefighter Killed at Scene of California Wildfire
Sep 1 2020 // A firefighter was killed and another injured Monday battling a wildfire in the Northern California forest, authorities said. The firefighter was killed in Mendocino National Forest north of San Francisco, where a wildfire...
California Commissioner Issues Emergency Notice to Expedite Wildfire Claims
Aug 26 2020 // California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara on Wednesday issued an emergency notice to all property/casualty insurance companies doing business in California, requesting they expedite claims handling for California...
Hedge Fund Collects $3 Billion in Bet on Wildfire Insurance Claims
Aug 24 2020 // Baupost Group, the hedge fund run by Seth Klarman, received more than $3 billion in July from its bet on insurance claims against PG&E Corp. connected to a series of deadly California wildfires, according to people...
California Says Fire Evacuees May Be Eligible for Reimbursement from Insurer
Aug 20 2020 // California residents who have been ordered to evacuate due to the hundreds of wildfires burning across the state my be able to recoup their evacuation costs from their insurance company, the California Department of...
California Fires Blanket San Francisco with Smoke; Thousands Evacuated
Aug 20 2020 // Thousands of people were under orders to evacuate in regions surrounding the San Francisco Bay Area on Aug. 19 as nearly 40 wildfires blazed across the state amid a blistering heat wave now in its second week. Smoke...
Colorado Banning Open Fires as State Battles 4 Wildfires
Aug 19 2020 // Gov. Jared Polis issued a 30-day ban on open fires such as campfires, fireworks and other open sources of ignition on Tuesday as the state battles four separate wildfires. The ban does not include home barbecues, public...
Roadmaps for Wildfire Mitigation Provide Guidance for Suburban Neighborhoods
Aug 19 2020 // New wildfire guidelines from an insurance industry home safety organization offer guidance for adapting suburban communities to the growing threat of wildfire. The Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety (IBHS)...
Is California’s Prop 103 System ‘Democratic’?
Aug 18 2020 // Defining the term “democracy” has long been a challenging proposition. Nearly all agree that a democracy is a government that reflects the will of the people, but questions about the particulars, of what...
Oregon Wildfire in Mop-up Phase, 36 Structures Destroyed and 660 Threatened
Aug 18 2020 // A wildfire burning in the scenic Columbia River Gorge that has destroyed dozens of structures is 65% contained, according to authorities. Some evacuation orders were downgraded as of Monday because of the containment...
Texas Forest Service Warns of Increased Wildfire Activity, Fuel Dryness
Aug 17 2020 // Continued hot and dry conditions across much of the state have resulted in increased wildfire activity, particularly in north central Texas and in areas along the Interstate-35 corridor, the Texas A&M Forest Service...
Heatwaves Raising California’s Wildfire Risk
Aug 17 2020 // The current heatwave broiling Californians like no event in decades is also elevating the risk for another potential disaster in the weeks ahead: wildfires. While heat and dry conditions have contributed to the Lake and...
California Wildfires Burning Amid High Risk of Large Blazes
Aug 14 2020 // Dry vegetation fueled three wildfires near Los Angeles amid warnings Friday that the risk of new blazes erupting was high as temperatures spike and humidity levels drop during a statewide heat wave. A huge forest fire that...
Crews Continue to Battle Massive California Fire, Evacuations Ordered
Aug 13 2020 // Crews struggled to reign in a Southern California wildfire that exploded in size in a matter of hours north of Los Angeles, prompting evacuation orders for about 100 homes and other buildings as it tore through forest...
California Bill Addressing Property Rates in Wildfire-Prone Areas Awaits Hearing
Aug 11 2020 // The stage has been set for a major battle over a California bill due to be heard in the next few weeks in a key committee that opponents say is a direct attack on insurance consumer protections and proponents say is the...
Homes Evacuated by Growing Wildfire in Western Colorado
Aug 10 2020 // Several residents near a western Colorado wildfire were ordered to evacuate as the blaze continues to expand. The fire about 18 miles north of Grand Junction was started more than a week ago by lightning in remote and...
Judge Orders PG&E in California to Beef up Safety
Aug 10 2020 // A federal judge has ordered Pacific Gas and Electric to better inspect high-voltage power lines, hire more tree-trimming supervisors and upgrade records regarding the age of electrical equipment as part of efforts to...
World’s Three Hottest Julys on Record Occurred During Last Five Years
Aug 7 2020 // Last month was the world’s third-hottest July on record, new data show — the latest milestone in a global warming trend that has seen the three hottest Julys within the last five years. With the heat has come a...
