Latest Wildfire Headlines

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

Washington Official Wants to Raise Insurance Tax to Help Fight Wildfires

Apr 15 2019 // With an increasing number of forest fires scorching portions of Washington each year, the Legislature is considering a proposal to create a fund dedicated to preventing and battling wildfires.In March, Commissioner of...

FEMA Accused of Wrongly Releasing Data of California Wildfire Victims

Apr 15 2019 // The Federal Emergency Management Agency wrongly released to a contractor the personal information of 2.3 million survivors of devastating 2017 hurricanes and wildfires, potentially exposing the victims to identity fraud...

California’s Governor Proposes Wildfire Fund, Seeks PG&E Fix

Apr 14 2019 // California Gov. Gavin Newsom gave legislators just three months to address a multibillion-dollar wildfire liability problem that has forced the state’s largest power company, PG&E Corp., into bankruptcy and...

Don’t Count on Home Insurance to Cover Cost of Rebuilding: Viewpoint

Apr 12 2019 // Own a home? No doubt you’ve insured it. Very sensible of you. But if that home were, say, burned to the ground, then your insurance company probably wouldn’t cover the cost of rebuilding it.Don’t feel too...

Insurers Oppose Premium Tax to Fund Washington’s Wildfire Prevention

Apr 9 2019 // Lobbyists for the property/casualty insurance industry are trying to prevent a $125 million jump in the state of Washington’s insurance premium tax that would fund wildfire prevention and suppression.The tax would...

Defective Electrical Panel Caused 2017 Wildfire in California’s Butte County

Apr 7 2019 // An investigation has determined that a July 2017 wildfire that destroyed more than 40 homes in Northern California was sparked by a defective electrical panel at a Butte County home. The state Department of Forestry and...

California Weighs Catastrophic Wildfire Fund as Way to Protect Utilities

Apr 5 2019 // Creation of a catastrophic wildfire risk pool is emerging as the most likely option as California lawmakers seek to protect the solvency of investor-owned utilities from record payouts for fire damages.PG&E filed for a...

Judge Tells PG&E to Hold Dividends to Pay to Help Reduce Wildfire Risks

Apr 3 2019 // A U.S. judge said on Tuesday that PG&E Corp. cannot resume dividends and must use the money to reduce wildfire risk in California, stopping short of more costly measures he proposed earlier this year.The new criminal...

Hurricane Michael Debris Fueling Wildfire in Florida Panhandle

Apr 2 2019 // Nearly two dozen Florida homes have been evacuated because of a 500-acre wildfire that grew rapidly overnight because of downed trees from Hurricane Michael. Authorities say the fire broke out Saturday in the Panhandle...

FEMA Accused of Wrongly Releasing Data of California Wildfire Victims

Apr 1 2019 // The Federal Emergency Management Agency wrongly released to a contractor the personal information of 2.3 million survivors of devastating 2017 hurricanes and wildfires, potentially exposing the victims to identity fraud...

California Commissioner Yet to Move on Petition from Climate Activists for More Insurer Regs

Mar 28 2019 // Nobody’s saying much as California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara considers how he will respond to a petition submitted by climate change activists urging him to place new regulations on insurers to disclose...

How One Company, AT&T, Is Using Models to Prepare for Natural Disaster Costs

Mar 28 2019 // By 2050, residents of southern Florida could become familiar with storms borne on 90-mph winds. Water levels during floods will rise by an average of 5 percent across the Southeast. And it will not be out of the ordinary...

California Disaster Insurance Act Passes Key Committee

Mar 26 2019 // Legislation by that could lead California to consider buying insurance in the private market to cover rapidly increasing costs of fighting wildfires due to climate change cleared a key committee vote Tuesday.Senate Bill...

California to Waive Environmental Rules to Prep for Wildfire Season

Mar 26 2019 // California Gov. Gavin Newsom has moved to bypass environmental regulations to prepare for the next wildfire season, a move he said was necessary to prevent further loss of life even as it frustrated activists in a state...

PG&E Pushes Back on Judge’s Proposals to Prevent Wildfires

Mar 25 2019 // Pacific Gas & Electric Co. is pushing back on a U.S. judge’s revised proposals to prevent the utility’s equipment from causing more wildfires, saying it could not “monitor every tree at every moment...

FEMA Gave Private Contractor Personal Data on 2.3 Million Hurricane, Wildfire Survivors

Mar 25 2019 // The Federal Emergency Management Agency wrongly released to a contractor the personal information of 2.3 million survivors of devastating 2017 hurricanes and wildfires, potentially exposing the victims to identity fraud...

Burning Down a House to Show How to Build for Wildfire Defense

Mar 20 2019 // After only a year into his job as CEO and president of the Insurance Institute for Business and Home Safety, Roy Wright is setting the place on fire.The IBHS conducted a demonstration in early March simulating an active...

$3M Grant for California Regional Forest and Fire Capacity Program

Mar 18 2019 // The California Fire Safe Council in partnership with the Watershed Research and Training Center has been awarded a $3 million grant, part of which is to help improve wildfire resiliency.The Regional Forest and Fire...

Consumer Advocacy in an Age of Consumer, Insurer Options

Mar 18 2019 // Years ago, insurance consumer advocates in the states were most often focused on getting consumers access to insurance at fair prices. They still advocate on those issues, of course, but today some are looking beyond these...

Deadly 2017 California Wildfire Found Sparked by Edison Power Lines

Mar 14 2019 // The devastating Thomas Fire that killed two people and destroyed more than 1,000 structures northwest of Los Angeles in December 2017 was sparked by power lines owned by Southern California Edison Co , fire officials said...