Latest Wildfire Headlines
All the headlines from our Wildfire Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Bankruptcy Judge Approves PG&E $105 Million Assistance Fund for Wildfire Victims
May 23 2019 // PG&E Corp. may set up a $105 million housing fund for victims of 2017 and 2018 wildfires in California, which set records for devastation and were blamed on the utility’s equipment, the judge overseeing the...
Wood-Panel Producer Norbord Halts Mill Production Following Alberta Wildfires
May 22 2019 // Norbord Inc said on Tuesday it suspended production at its oriented strand board (OSB) mill in High Level, Alberta, to comply with evacuation orders following nearby wildfires. More than 4,000 people from High Level and...
Nevada Reaches Tentative Settlement Homeowners and Insurers in Wildfire Suit
May 21 2019 // The state of Nevada has reached a tentative settlement with dozens of homeowners and insurance companies that filed an $80 million negligence lawsuit after a fire destroyed 24 homes when strong winds reignited a smoldering...
Investigators Blame PG&E Lines for Deadliest Wildfire in California History
May 15 2019 // State fire investigators have determined that transmission lines owned by Pacific Gas & Electric Co caused the deadliest and most destructive wildfire on record in California, a blaze that killed 85 people last year,...
X Prize Developing Wildfire-Fighting Contest
May 14 2019 // The X Prize Foundation is developing a contest for technology that can detect and extinguish wildfires before they grow too large. X Prize Foundation chairman Peter Diamandis made the announcement at the Near Future Summit...
California May Go Dark This Summer; Most Aren’t Ready
May 13 2019 // A plan by California’s biggest utility to cut power on high-wind days during the onrushing wildfire season could plunge millions of residents into darkness. And the vast majority isn’t ready for it. The plan by...
$10B Fund for California Fire Costs May Dry Up by 2030
May 10 2019 // California has for months been weighing the idea of a fund that utilities could dip into when facing crippling costs tied to wildfires. On Wednesday, state lawmakers got a feel for how big that fund would have to...
Insurance Department: Claims from Deadly California Wildfires Top $12B
May 9 2019 // Insurance claims have topped $12 billion for the November wildfires in California, making them the most expensive in state history. The figure released on May 8 by Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara covers the fire that...
Judge Tells PG&E’s Board to Tour Wildfire-Ravaged California Town
May 8 2019 // A federal judge has ordered board members of Pacific Gas & Electric to tour the Northern California town of Paradise, which was leveled by a wildfire that may have been caused by the utility’s equipment. The...
Insured Losses from November 2018 California Wildfires Top $12B
May 8 2019 // Insured losses from the most destructive wildfire month in California’s history climbed $614 million in the first three months of the year, pushing total claims over $12 billion as of April, the California Department...
Busy Wildfire Season Along West Coast: Forecast
May 3 2019 // Most of the country can expect a normal wildfire season but residents along the West Coast of the United States should be ready for another busy season, the National Interagency Fire Center said this week. California...
House Passes Climate Now Act, But What’s The Next Step?
May 2 2019 // The U.S. must take an active role in mitigating climate change on the global stage. So says the U.S. House of Representatives, which voted today on H.R. 9, the Climate Action Now Act. The bill, which passed 231-190,...
PG&E Seeks Court Approval for $105M Fund to Aid California Wildfire Victims
May 2 2019 // PG&E Corp. is seeking court approval for a $105 million fund to help house victims of the wildfires blamed on the bankrupt California power provider. PG&E in a filing in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in San Francisco on...
PG&E Still Has No Estimate on Compensating California Wildfire Victims
May 1 2019 // Pacific Gas & Electric Corp.’s top financial executives said during a bankruptcy meeting Monday they still haven’t determined when the utility can start compensating victims of recent wildfires started by...
L.A. County Sues Southern California Edison for Wildfire Damage
Apr 29 2019 // Los Angeles County sued Southern California Edison and parent company Edison International on Thursday to recover more than $100 million in costs and damages from a wind-driven wildfire that may have been sparked by one of...
PG&E Behind on Tree Work in California a Month from Wildfire Season
Apr 29 2019 // California is just one month away from the official start of wildfire season and bankrupt utility giant PG&E Corp. is running behind on inspections, repairs and tree-trimming that was ordered up to reduce the risk of...
Expert Discusses Potential Solutions to Ease the Pain of California’s Severe Wildfires
Apr 26 2019 // Powered by InsuranceJournal.tv James Woods has his sights set on finding ways to help California deal with repeated years of severe wildfire seasons, and the prospect of more seasons in which record losses from large...
PG&E Asks California for Higher Rates to Pay for Wildfire Safety, Profits
Apr 26 2019 // California utility Pacific Gas & Electric Corp. is asking state regulators for another increase in rates and profits, saying it’s needed for wildfire safety and to attract investment as the utility goes through...
PG&E Can Pay Employees $350M to Meet Safety Goals After California Wildfires
Apr 24 2019 // PG&E Corp. can pay employees up to $350 million in bonuses this year to spur them to help meet the bankrupt California power provider’s safety goals to prevent wildfires, a judge said on Tuesday. PG&E’s...
California Wildfires Helped Drive Homeowners Premium Volume in Surplus Lines
Apr 23 2019 // Wildfires have evidently been driving more Californians into the surplus lines market, pushing up homeowners surplus premium volume to more than $122 million in 2018, according to the Surplus Line Association of...
