Latest Wildfire Headlines

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

California County Adding Artificial Intelligence for Wildfires

Mar 23 2021 // Sonoma County officials say they will add artificial intelligence technology to help fight wildfires with a 24-7 monitor to track fire outbreaks.The technology will be added to the county’s network of wildfire...

Wisconsin Issues Wildfire Warning After 30-Plus Weekend Blazes

Mar 22 2021 // Wisconsin authorities are warning residents about weather conditions after more than 30 wildfires were reported throughout the state on March 20.Much of the state is under a burn ban due to forecasts of low relative...

Oregon Lawsuits Seek $1B from Pacific Power over Wildfires

Mar 22 2021 // Two new lawsuits filed in Marion County, Ore., seek more than $1 billion in damages from Pacific Power, claiming the utility’s negligence led to wildfires in the Santiam Canyon last year.The two lawsuits filed in...

California Attorney General Challenges Housing Plans in Wildfire Areas

Mar 19 2021 // California’s attorney general is challenging some of the state’s largest suburban development projects as local officials weigh the risk of increasingly devastating wildfires against the state’s dire need...

Bill to Create Fund to Battle Washington Wildfires Moving Through Legislature

Mar 17 2021 // A bill to create a dedicated fund to prevent and fight wildfires in Washington easily passed the state House of Representatives and will be sent to the state Senate.The bill, promoted by Commissioner of Public Lands Hilary...

Oregon Lawsuits Seek $1B From Pacific Power over Wildfires

Mar 12 2021 // Two new lawsuits filed in Marion County, Ore., seek more than $1 billion in damages from Pacific Power, claiming the utility’s negligence led to wildfires in the Santiam Canyon last year.The two lawsuits filed...

More Than 2,300 Acres Burned by 24 Wildfires in Alabama

Mar 10 2021 // Wildfires have burned more than 2,300 acres of land across Alabama in recent days, forestry officials said Monday as firefighters battled two dozen blazes statewide. Fire charred 560 acres in St. Clair County, and two...

California Commissioner Wants Rate Transparency Rules for Wildfire Risk

Mar 8 2021 // California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara has proposed new rules to give homeowners and businesses open access to their properties’ wildfire risk scores.The new rules would require insurance companies to provide...

Oregon Hotel Fined for Overcharging People During Wildfire

Mar 1 2021 // A hotel in Roseburg, Oregon, has been fined $31,000 for overcharging dozens of area residents who sought rooms after fleeing a large wildfire in September.The News-Review reports SUBH Investment LLC, which does business as...

Fire Victim Trust Sues California Utility Executives for Causing Wildfires

Feb 24 2021 // The Fire Victim Trust has filed a lawsuit in San Francisco Superior Court against certain former officers and directors of PG&E Corp. and Pacific Gas and Electric Co. for their role in causing the catastrophic 2017...

California Commissioner Wants Rate Transparency Rules for Wildfire Risk

Feb 23 2021 // California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara has proposed new rules to give homeowners and businesses open access to their properties’ wildfire risk scores.The new rules would require insurance companies to provide...

California Surplus Lines Weathered Pandemic, Wildfires, Civil Unrest

Feb 22 2021 // In a year marred by a pandemic, massive Western U.S. wildfires, civil unrest, and a contentious election, California’s surplus lines market “didn’t miss a beat.”That was the message from Ben McKay,...

Most Oregonians Applying for Disaster Aid After 2020 Wildfires Denied

Feb 16 2021 // More than 24,000 Oregonians applied for federal disaster assistance after the catastrophic 2020 wildfires and about 57% of them were denied.Jefferson Public Radio reports that nearly 14,000 Oregonians have been denied aid,...

California Surplus Lines Weathered Pandemic, Wildfires, Civil Unrest

Feb 9 2021 // In a year marred by a pandemic, massive Western U.S. wildfires, civil unrest, and a contentious election, California’s surplus lines market “didn’t miss a beat.”That was the message from Ben McKay,...

Damage From Wildfire Smoke Extends to Infrastructure, Businesses, Other Communities

Feb 8 2021 // The damage caused by wildfires can be devastating, gutting structures and driving out people who live and work nearby. And researchers say the smoke from the annually recurring blazes also delivers economic damage to areas...

Arizona Facing Above-Normal Wildfire Threats

Feb 8 2021 // Drought remains in place across Arizona with a likelihood of warm and dry conditions in coming months even after a recent storm dropped heavy snow across much of the state’s high country, a 2021 wildfire season...

California Largest Utilities Will Spend Billions to Lower Wildfire Risk

Feb 8 2021 // California’s largest utilities said that they will spend about $13 billion to reduce the risk of wildfires following the worst fire season in modern state history and a string of blazes that were blamed on their...

National Fire Protection Association, State Farm Funding Wildfire Preparedness

Feb 4 2021 // The National Fire Protection Association and State Farm have kicked off a funding awards application period for the eighth national Wildfire Community Preparedness Day on Saturday, May 1, which helps communities prepare...

Drought, Wildfire Threat Lead to Disaster Declaration in Texas

Feb 3 2021 // Saying exceptional drought conditions pose a wildfire threat in a large swath of West and Southwest Texas, Gov. Greg Abbott has issued a disaster declaration for counties in those areas of the state.Abbott said drought...

Utility Paying $2B Settlement in Deadly 2018 California Fire

Jan 27 2021 // Southern California Edison will pay $2.2 billion to settle insurance claims from a deadly, destructive wildfire sparked by its equipment in 2018, the utility announced this week.Edison, which acknowledged no wrongdoing,...