Latest Wildfire Headlines

All the headlines from our Wildfire Topic Page, ordered by recency.

Effective Wildfire Prevention Hampered by Liability, Weather, Development

Jun 15 2015 // Forest managers would prefer to use prescribed burns every few years to help prevent costly wildfires and rebuild unhealthy ecosystems, but hurdles like staffing, budget, liability and new development hinder...

Wildfire Report Shows 2 Million California Homes at Risk as Drought Continues

Jun 10 2015 // A report issued today shows California has more than 2 million homes at “high” or “extreme” wildfire risk, as the multi-year drought continues stoke fears among some experts of a potentially...

Report: 4.5 Million Homes in 13 States at Extreme Wildfire Risk

Jun 10 2015 // A report issued today shows 4.5 million U.S. homes at high or extreme risk of wildfire as the multi-year drought continues. The report’s author said the worsening drought means 2015 has the potential to be one of the...

Effective Wildfire Prevention Hampered by Liability, Weather, Development

Jun 1 2015 // Forest managers would prefer to use prescribed burns every few years to help prevent costly wildfires and rebuild unhealthy ecosystems, but hurdles like staffing, budget, liability and new development hinder them, a new...

Alberta Wildfires Burn for 6th Day, 10% of Oil Sands Crude Offline

May 29 2015 // Firefighters battled wildfires in northern Alberta, Canada’s biggest crude-producing region, for a sixth day on Thursday, with two blazes near oil sands facilities still out of control. The wildfires have forced...

Wildfires in Northern Alberta Continue to Disrupt Oil Sands Production

May 27 2015 // Wildfires in northern Alberta kept about 10 percent of Canada’s oil sands production offline for a third day [on Tuesday] as Bank of America Corp. warned the blazes may slow the economy. A fire at Cold Lake Weapons...

Arizona Wildfire Season Delayed by Cool, Wet Weather

May 22 2015 // An unusually cool and wet May is delaying the start of the wildfire season around northern Arizona. Weather conditions at this time last year were hot and windy, frustrating firefighters battling what became a...

Dry Conditions Have Alaska Wildfire Responders Keeping Eye Out

May 22 2015 // Interior Alaska and other parts of the state are experiencing conditions ripe for forest fires and natural resources officials are urging caution in outdoor activities heading into Memorial Day Weekend. Information officer...

Verisk Expands Wildfire Risk Service to 3 More States

May 5 2015 // Verisk Insurance Solutions has added Montana, Oklahoma and Wyoming to its FireLine wildfire risk management service. FireLine provides information to insurers to analyze wildfire risk at the individual address...

Wildfires Burn Buildings, Cause Evacuation in Central Wisconsin

May 4 2015 // Six buildings caught fire and 15 homes had to be evacuated as warm weather and dry conditions helped fuel wildfires in central Wisconsin. Catherine Koele, the wildfire prevention specialist for the state Department of...

2 Lawsuits Over 2013 Arizona Wildfire Dismissed by Judge

May 1 2015 // Two lawsuits filed against Arizona by homeowners whose properties were destroyed by the Yarnell Hill Fire have been dismissed. A Maricopa County Superior Court judge agreed Wednesday with the state’s argument that it...

California Suburban Wildfire Sparked by Power Tool

Apr 29 2015 // Los Angeles fire officials say a brush fire in California that that briefly threatened homes in a heavily populated suburban neighborhood was caused by sparks from a power tool that a homeowner was using to clear...

Judge Rejects Effort to Undo California Wildfire Settlement

Apr 20 2015 // A judge has rejected a California timber company’s attempt to undo a $47 million legal settlement for a massive 2007 wildfire. Sierra Pacific Industries had accused federal prosecutors of engaging in misconduct. But...

Settlement Talks Continue in Arizona Wildfire Wrongful Death Case

Apr 20 2015 // Parties in a wrongful-death lawsuit stemming from the 2013 Yarnell Hill Fire say they need more time to discuss a settlement. Lawyers for the sides told a U.S. District Court judge on Friday that they’re working in...

Lloyd’s of London Offers Wildfire Insurance to Oregon at Higher Rates

Apr 6 2015 // The state of Oregon has a chance to continue its unique insurance policy that helps pay for fighting wildfires in big burning years – but at a higher premium and deductible. Lloyd’s of London has offered to cover...

Wildfire in 2015: What to Expect?

Mar 23 2015 // The past two years did not result in the amount of wildfire activity that many wildfire scientists, foresters and fire responders had expected. Looking back, the 2013 season had the earmarks of a bad year, with the...

Wildfire in 2015: What to Expect?

Mar 21 2015 // The past two years did not result in the amount of wildfire activity that many wildfire scientists, foresters and fire responders had expected. Looking back, the 2013 season had the earmarks of a bad year, with the...

Crestbrook to Offer Wildfire Mitigation for High Value Homeowners

Mar 20 2015 // Crestbrook Insurance Co., an affluent market personal lines carrier, has launched Crestbrook Wildfire Solution Program in collaboration with Wildfire Defense Systems (WDS), an insurance wildfire loss prevention and...

Wildfire Spreads in Western Oklahoma, Homes Evacuated

Mar 18 2015 // Emergency personnel say about a dozen people have been evacuated from their homes because of wildfire that has burned 37 square miles in rural western Oklahoma. Woodward County emergency manager Matt Lehenbauer said on...

After Deadly California Fire Thousands of Smoke Alarms Installed

Mar 9 2015 // Volunteers have installed thousands of free smoke alarms in a Southern California neighborhood where a fire killed a mother and her two sons. Five-thousand smoke alarms donated by the Kidde fire safety products firm were...