Latest Wildfire Headlines

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

Another Member PG&E California Wildfire Panel Resigns

Apr 6 2020 // The former chief financial officer for a Northern California city destroyed in a 2018 wildfire caused by Pacific Gas & Electric equipment is trying to upend the utility’s plan for getting out of bankruptcy...

Declarations

Apr 6 2020 // “Insurers must cover delivery services for restaurants on personal auto insurance policies and must offer coverage for hired drivers and non-owned automobiles as a rider on a restaurant’s general liability...

Regulators Mull Reversing $462M Increase in PG&E’s California Wildfire Fines

Apr 1 2020 // California power regulators are weighing a recommendation to back off plans to fine Pacific Gas and Electric an additional $462 million for igniting a series of Northern California 2018 deadly wildfires rather than risk...

New Mexico to Use Satellite Tracking During Wildfire Season

Apr 1 2020 // New Mexico has a new tool that could help crews get an early jump on any wildfires that might break out.The State Forestry Division will be getting real-time alerts via a satellite tracking system designed by the Santa...

PG&E to Use California Wildfire Victims Fund to Pay for Past Crimes

Mar 30 2020 // Pacific Gas & Electric is warning its elaborate plan for getting out of bankruptcy might collapse if the utility can’t pay for its crimes in a deadly Northern California wildfire by taking money away from a fund...

PG&E’s Falling Stock Price Worries California Wildfire Victims Eyeing Deal

Mar 27 2020 // The stock market turmoil triggered by the coronavirus pandemic is raising worries that Pacific Gas & Electric’s $13.5 billion settlement with victims of catastrophic wildfires may be worth far less by the time...

PG&E Will Plead Guilty to Involuntary Manslaughter in California Wildfire

Mar 24 2020 // Pacific Gas & Electric said it will plead guilty to 84 counts of involuntary manslaughter in connection with the 2018 fire in Northern California that killed 84 people and decimated three towns.The utility said in a...

California Legislative Recess Leaves Wildfire Plan in Limbo

Mar 22 2020 // Californians statewide are huddled at home under a “shelter-in-place” order handed down March 20 by Gov. Gavin Newsom to stem the spread of the COVID-19 virus.Unfortunately, nature does not take a break for...

Report: Climate Change Requires a ‘Rethink’ of How Catastrophic Events are Funded

Mar 19 2020 // Severe weather events and demographic challenges will continue to strain government finances, a trend that will require “a rethink of how catastrophic events are funded” and push the need for greater use of...

Colorado Man And His Insurer to Pay $500K Over 2017 Wildfire

Mar 19 2020 // A Colorado man and his insurance company paid $500,000 to the U.S. government over a wildfire that burned federal land in the state.Dale Owns and Grange Insurance Association made the payment to resolve liability for the...

PG&E Has Settled One Battle Involving California Wildfire Fund

Mar 11 2020 // Pacific Gas & Electric told a federal bankruptcy judge that it has settled a dispute with disaster-relief agencies that threatened to siphon money away from a $13.5 billion fund earmarked for victims of catastrophic...

California FAIR Plan Can Offer Only Fire Insurance, Judge Says

Mar 9 2020 // A fund that offers only fire insurance to California residents in wildfire-prone areas can’t be required to provide coverage for other hazards such as flooding or theft, a judge ruled in late February.Superior Court...

California Public Utilities Commission Fines PG&E $2.1B over Wildfires

Mar 9 2020 // The California Public Utilities Commission issued an administrative law judge decision imposing $2.137 billion in penalties against Pacific Gas and Electric Company for the utility’s role in the catastrophic 2017 and...

A&M Study: Texas’ Future Depends on Climate Preparedness

Mar 6 2020 // Texans should expect warmer weather, more wildfires and urban flooding, and increased impact from hurricanes through 2036 thanks to climate change, according to a new study from the Office of the Texas State Climatologist...

One U.S. State May Look at Insurers’ Fossil Fuel Investments and Underwriting to Combat Climate Change

Mar 5 2020 // A Connecticut lawmaker has plans for a bill that not only calls for the state to look at which insurers have fossil fuel investments – a growing trend among government entities as of late – but also which ones are...

Report Shows Underestimated Weather Led to Colorado Wildfire

Mar 5 2020 // A controlled burn that became a wildfire in Colorado was the result of weather conditions that were underestimated by fire personnel, state officials said.The Colorado Department of Public Safety Compliance and...

Climate Change Heightens Risk of Fierce Australia Wildfires: Study

Mar 5 2020 // Climate change is adding to the risk of fierce wildfires in Australia, according to a scientific study of this season’s blazes that razed an area the size of England and killed dozens of people and more than a...

PG&E Not Committing to Expanding Tree-Trimming Force in California

Mar 4 2020 // Lawyers for Pacific Gas & Electric said the utility can’t commit to hiring hundreds more tree trimmers in the way that a federal judge wants to cut the risk of starting more catastrophic wildfires in...

USDA’s Wildfire Indemnity Program Offers Possible Drought Assistance for California Farmers

Feb 28 2020 // U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue announced additional disaster assistance available to agricultural producers, including producers impacted by drought and excess moisture as well as sugar beet growers.California...

California Bill Aimed at Property Insurance in Communities Investing in Wildfire Prevention

Feb 28 2020 // Assemblyman Marc Levine, D-Marin County, has introduced Assembly Bill 3258, which would require property insurance providers to take into consideration local government investments in wildfire prevention when determining...