California Wildfires News

California Commissioner Issuing Moratorium on Cancellations for Wildfire Victims

California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara has identified areas in the vicinity of the several ongoing large wildfires in the state that will be protected by a one-year moratorium on homeowners insurance non-renewal or cancellation due to wildfire risk. Lara’s action …

California Policyholders May Be On the Hook for Wildfire Losses

California homeowners could be required to pay a surcharge if the state’s insurer of last resort is unable to cover losses from a catastrophic wildfire. The California Department of Insurance sent a bulletin to insurance companies this week outlining how …

Western States Top Wildfire Risk Scores in New Analysis

California, Oregon, Colorado, Washington and Arizona are the states most at risk for wildfires, earning an “F” rating, according to a new analysis by Guidewire detailing wildfire risk in the U.S. at local, state, and national levels. Guidewire’s HazardHub data …

Southern California Edison Seeks to Recover $1.6B of Wildfire-Related Losses

Southern California Edison, a unit of utility Edison International said on Thursday it was seeking approval for a settlement agreement to recover nearly 60% of losses related to wildfires and mudslides in 2017 and 2018. Under the agreement with the …

Robots Are Starting (Good) Fires in California

Cody Chiverton has spent the past decade lighting fires. As a former firefighter with the U.S. Forest Service, he participated in dozens of prescribed burns across the American West, in which fire-prevention teams would carry drip torches to ignite dry …

Wildfire Risk Harms California Home Values, San Francisco Fed Study Finds

California’s wildfires are weighing on home prices more than in the past, and insurance availability does little to help in areas considered to be at higher risk, according to a Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco study. “Our results suggest …

Californians Facing Higher Rent Because of Rising Insurance Rates

Like single-family homeowners in California, landlords are facing higher insurance premiums, too. And they’re passing along some of those costs to their tenants. Many insurance companies have stopped writing policies in the state because of increased wildfire risks, but that’s …

Report: 10 of Top U.S. Metros at Moderate to Very High Risk of Wildfire Are in California

Ten of the top 15 metropolitan areas for wildfire risk concentration are in California, while more than 2.6 million homes across 14 states with a total reconstruction cost of $1.3 trillion are at moderate to very high risk of wildfire …

California Commissioner Moves to Implement Insurance Rate Review Reforms

California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara on Friday released a statement on his latest administrative action designed to address the state’s homeowners insurance crisis. Lara today issued a bulletin implementing rate review reforms he says will help stabilize the state’s insurance …

Toilet Paper and Flat Tires: The Strange Ways Californians Ignite Wildfires

Of all the insidious threats faced by wildland firefighters — extreme heat, desiccated forests, unpredictable fire behavior and a nearly year-round fire season — what might be the most fearsome? Humans. People do dangerous things, things that start wildfires. Pushing …