Latest Wildfire Headlines
All the headlines from our Wildfire Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Dozens of Wildfires Burn Hundreds of Square Miles in Oklahoma, Texas
Apr 16 2018 // Strong winds are fueling more than two dozen wildfires burning across Oklahoma and Texas. Authorities say one blaze in western Oklahoma is estimated to be nearly 40 miles across at its widest point. Oklahoma Forestry...
Everest Re Expects Q1 Catastrophe Losses of $100M on Rising California Wildfire Claims
Apr 12 2018 // Everest Re Group Ltd. estimates it will incur $100 million of catastrophe losses, net of reinsurance recoverables and reinstatement premiums, in the first quarter of 2018, largely arising from the California wildfires and...
Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas Facing Dual Threats: Tornadoes, Wildfires
Apr 9 2018 // Emergency officials in Oklahoma, Texas and Kansas are bracing for two types of disasters as spring gets into full swing: The start of what’s historically the most active time of year for tornadoes plus wildfire...
Chubb $380M Q1 Cat Loss Estimate Includes California Wildfires, East Coast Storms
Apr 4 2018 // Chubb Limited released preliminary net loss estimates for the first quarter of 2018 attributable to natural catastrophes, including the California mudslides, of $380 million pre-tax, or $305 million after tax. Losses from...
Report: Orange County Agency Delayed Response to Destructive Wildfire
Apr 2 2018 // A Southern California fire agency is overhauling its procedures after a report found that missteps delayed response to a wildfire last fall that burned 15 homes. The Orange County Fire Authority announced on March 30 that...
Wildfires Cost Montana $240M In Visitor Spending, New Research Shows
Mar 28 2018 // University of Montana researchers say the 2017 fire season likely cost Montana about $240 million in visitor spending. The Institute for Tourism and Recreation Research said Tuesday that 12.5 million out-of-staters visited...
California Chief Justice Expects an Influx of Wildfire Claims
Mar 23 2018 // California courts are preparing for an influx of lawsuits tied to last year’s historically destructive wildfires and mudslides, Chief Justice Tani Cantil-Sakauye told lawmakers this week in her annual “state of...
Wildfires in Southeast Australia Destroy More Than 70 Homes, Kill Livestock
Mar 19 2018 // More than 70 homes were destroyed as bushfires swept through the seaside town of Tathra in southeastern Australia at the weekend. Soaring temperatures and wind gusts fanned the fires about 500 kilometers (310 miles) south...
Wildfires Bring Disaster Declaration in Kansas, Burn Ban in Nebraska
Mar 16 2018 // Gov. Jeff Colyer issued a disaster declaration for three wildfires currently burning in central Kansas. State officials announced that Rice County officials have asked for help from the Kansas National Guard to fight the...
Kansas Governor Issues Wildfire Disaster Declaration
Mar 6 2018 // Forecasters are warning of a high risk of wildfires after one blaze burned 10,000 hay bales in the southwest part of the state. Kansas Gov. Jeff Colyer signed an emergency disaster declaration Sunday when the large bales...
California Spent $1.8B Fighting 2017 Wildfires
Mar 5 2018 // California state agencies spent nearly $1.8 billion fighting fierce wildfires that killed dozens of people and destroyed thousands of homes and businesses last year, legislative budget experts reported Thursday. The...
Fire Chiefs in California Want Money to Prepare for Wildfires
Mar 1 2018 // California fire chiefs said that reinforcements were too slow to arrive in last year’s ferocious firestorms and asked lawmakers for $100 million to call in extra firefighters when weather conditions are ripe for a...
California Officials Lacked Good Fire Alert Plan, Report Shows
Feb 28 2018 // Officials in a Northern California county were ill-prepared, disorganized and lacked sufficient training when deadly, fast-moving wildfires broke out last October endangering about 100,000 people, according to a report...
Berkshire’s 14-Year Insurance Win Streak Comes to an End
Feb 26 2018 // Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway’s combination of insurance entities have recorded 14 consecutive years of underwriting profit worth more than $28 billion. The Oracle from Omaha has repeatedly warned his...
AIG’s Doubling of Q4 Loss Pinned on Wildfires, Tax Act
Feb 9 2018 // American International Group reported a net loss of $6.7 billion for the fourth quarter of 2017, compared to a net loss of $3.0 billion in the prior-year quarter. The fourth quarter of 2017 net loss included a charge of...
Climate Change and the ‘Fire Insurance Predicament’
Feb 8 2018 // A Washington-based conservative group is suing for information on the U.S. government’s “backstage work” on the Paris agreement it says will help pave the way for President Trump’s withdrawal from...
CoreLogic Identifies Flood and Wildfire as the Two Most Destructive Natural Hazards in 2017
Feb 7 2018 // This post is part of a series sponsored by CoreLogic. Annual Natural Hazard Risk Summary and Analysis Details 2017 Natural Hazard Events CoreLogic® analyzes and evaluates the number and severity of natural hazard events...
Thousands of Acres Scorched by Northeastern Oklahoma Wildfires
Feb 5 2018 // Firefighters say wildfires have scorched thousands of acres of dry grasslands in northeastern Oklahoma. Dozens of firefighters fought a grassfire along Oklahoma Highway 20 in Osage County Saturday evening that officials...
Winter Wildfires Scorch Oklahoma
Feb 5 2018 // Firefighters say wildfires have scorched hundreds of acres in western Oklahoma, damaging fences and equipment but causing no injuries. Capt. Forrest Valentine of the Clinton Fire Department said firefighters battled two...
Texas AG Sues Tree Company Over Deadly, Damaging 2011 Wildfire
Feb 5 2018 // Texas is suing a vegetation management company that it alleges caused the 2011 Bastrop County Complex Fire, the most destructive wildfire in Texas history. The lawsuit filed on Jan. 19 by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton...
