Latest Wildfire Headlines

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

PG&E Tells Fire Safety Critics Utility is Going Beyond Call of Duty

Sep 18 2019 // PG&E Corp. sought to assure a judge it’s making progress on fire prevention, saying it’s exceeding regulatory requirements to clear vegetation from power lines.Kevin Orsini, a lawyer for the utility, on...

Santa Ana Winds Return to California Bringing Wildfire Danger

Sep 16 2019 // The Santa Ana winds have returned to California, a signal to the state’s residents that the wildfire season has begun in earnest.The winds are created by high pressure over Nevada’s Great Basin as cool weather...

PG&E Reaches $11B Settlement with Insurers Over California Wildfire Claims

Sep 13 2019 // Bankrupt California utility giant PG&E Corp. resolved a key battle by agreeing to pay $11 billion to settle insurance claims from wildfires blamed on its equipment. An even bigger struggle looms.The settlement with...

Climate Change Tops List of World’s ‘Extreme Risks’

Sep 12 2019 // Global temperature change, global trade collapse and cyber warfare are the top three “extreme risks” identified in a study from Willis Towers Watson.The new paper out this month is part of the firm’s...

Report: Texas Cities Included in Areas with Extreme Risk of Wildfire Damage

Sep 12 2019 // In its 2019 Wildfire Risk report, a global property information, analytics and data-enabled solutions provider, CoreLogic, shows that across the nation nearly 776,000 homes with an associated reconstruction cost value of...

Report: $221B in Western U.S. Homes at Extreme Risk of Wildfire Damage

Sep 12 2019 // Nearly 776,000 homes with a reconstruction cost value of more than $221 billion are at extreme risk of wildfire damage, a new report out Thursday shows.The 2019 CoreLogic Wildfire Risk Report examines single-family and...

Loss Creep Spells End to Soft Reinsurance Market: Guy Carpenter

Sep 10 2019 // Extended development from North American hurricane losses and losses from non-peak perils like California wildfires have finally jolted reinsurers out of a soft reinsurance market, according to a report from reinsurance...

Outrage over PG&E’s Plan to Cap California Wildfire Liabilities at $18B

Sep 10 2019 // California utility giant PG&E Corp. has issued its long-awaited plan for emerging from the largest utility bankruptcy in U.S. history: Raise debt, offer equity and cap the wildfire liabilities that led to its collapse...

Burns & Wilcox to Offer Wildfire Management Services to Policyholders in the West

Sep 9 2019 // Burns & Wilcox has formed an exclusive partnership with Wildfire Defense Systems, Inc. (WDS) to provide WDS’ full suite of wildfire prevention and mitigation services to homeowners, with no minimum property value...

Wildfires Making Insurance Harder to Find, California Department of Insurance Says

Sep 2 2019 // Severe wildfire seasons have made it harder for homeowners to find insurance in high wildfire-risk areas, according to new data collected by the California Department of Insurance.The data released in late-August from the...

Fire Official Says Oregon Wildfire Risk Map Flawed

Aug 28 2019 // A fire official says a wildfire risk map being created by Deschutes County, the home of Bend, Oregon, underestimates fire danger because it doesn’t take into account the danger when homes catch fire in densely built...

Evacuations Lifted in Wildfire Along California-Nevada Border

Aug 27 2019 // Authorities say a fast-moving wildfire on rural land along the California-Nevada border burned one home before crews were able to slow its spread.Fire spokesman Adam Mayberry says the blaze about 25 miles north of Reno,...

Firefighters Make Progress on Alaska Wildfire

Aug 27 2019 // Firefighters are making progress on an Alaska wildfire that has claimed 51 homes.Nearly 450 firefighters working the fire about 70 miles north of Alaska’s largest city brought it to 46 percent containment Monday, up...

Alaska Wildfire Threatening Community Businesses

Aug 26 2019 // A wildfire in south-central Alaska has threatened multiple businesses in a nearby community, officials said. At least 51 homes and three businesses have been destroyed in a wildfire burning north of Anchorage. Another 84...

California Utility Wants Help Paying Wildfire Victims

Aug 23 2019 // A troubled California utility company is asking the state Legislature to let it borrow money without paying taxes so it can compensate victims of a devastating wildfire caused by its equipment.Pacific Gas & Electric is...

Guy Carpenter Tapped for California Wildfire Fund Reinsurance Program

Aug 22 2019 // Guy Carpenter & Company LLC has been named the sole reinsurance intermediary for the newly formed California Wildfire Fund, which is currently being administered by the California Earthquake Authority.Guy Carpenter...

Wildfires Making Insurance Harder to Find, California Department of Insurance Says

Aug 21 2019 // Severe wildfire seasons have made it harder for homeowners to find insurance in high wildfire-risk areas, according to new data collected by the California Department of Insurance.The data released this week from the CDI...

Spain Reports Progress in Battling Canary Island Wildfire

Aug 21 2019 // The wind dropped overnight in the Canary Islands, allowing firefighters to make progress Tuesday against Spain’s biggest wildfire so far this year.Canary Islands President Angel Victor Torres said 16 water-dropping...

Texas A&M Forest Service Activates Airtanker Base to Help Combat Wildfires

Aug 21 2019 // In response to rising wildfire activity across the state, the Texas A&M Forest Service is opening the Austin Airtanker Base at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport.Significant fire activity has increased recently,...

PG&E Will Face Jury Over Billions in Damages from Massive California Wildfire

Aug 20 2019 // Victims of the second-most destructive fire in California history will get a chance to try and persuade a jury that PG&E Corp. should pay them as much as $18 billion in damages.U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Dennis Montali on...