mitigation News

FEMA Cancels Classes at National Fire Academy Amid Federal Funding Cuts

The country’s preeminent federal fire training academy canceled classes, effective immediately, on Saturday amid the ongoing flurry of funding freezes and staffing cuts by President Donald Trump’s administration. The Federal Emergency Management Agency announced that National Fire Academy courses were …

How Better Water Systems Can Help a City Survive The Next Firestorm

Santa Rosa. Paradise. Boulder County. Lahaina. Los Angeles. All are places that have shown that American cities and their water systems weren’t built to withstand wildfire, experts say. Related: California Wildfire Mitigation And Recovery Bill Package Introduced Hydrants trickled. Pumps …

More SE States Pushing Funding, Discounts for Stronger Roofs as Storms Increase

A residual property insurer and regulators in two Southeastern states are emphasizing roof integrity, more signs that mitigation and prevention are increasingly recognized as ways to reduce insured losses as storms escalate in frequency and severity. “The goal is to …

Moody’s: Northeast U.S. States in the Wildfire Spotlight

States such as California are certainly experiencing a more ferocious wildfire season this year than a relatively quiet 2023. Combined CAL FIRE and U.S. Forest Service figures record over 1 million acres burnt in California this year, way above the …

Fire Mitigation Industry Terror: NYC Gang Member Convicted of Extortion, Racketeering

A gang member who ran a fire restoration company has been convicted of using violence, threats of violence, and extortion to terrorize and dominate the fire restoration industry in New York City. After presiding over a two-week bench trial in …

Are Billions in Wind Mitigation the Answer for Florida’s Insurance Problems?

While Florida’s property insurance landscape appears to be leveling out, much more funding is needed to fortify homes against hurricane winds and prevent devastating losses for insureds and insurers, a few panelists said at the Florida Chamber’s Insurance Summit last …

Explainer: Factors Behind Sydney’s Recent Flood Emergencies

CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — Parts of Australia’s largest city have been inundated by four major floods since March last year, leaving weary residents questioning how many times they can rebuild. The latest disaster follows Sydney’s wettest-ever start to a year …

Close Calls, or Worse, Spark Push for Wildfire Mitigation

DURANGO, Colo. (AP) — As the Missionary Ridge Fire raged in 2002, the Valley Fire, a second fire, broke out and destroyed six homes within hours near the Falls Creek Ranch subdivision north of Durango. When residents returned after the …

As Drought Intensifies, California Seeing More Wildfires

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — As California sinks deeper into drought it already has had more than 900 additional wildfires than at this point in 2020, which was a record-breaking year that saw more than 4% of the state’s land scorched …

California AG Challenges Housing Plans in Wildfire Areas

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — 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 for more housing. Attorney General Xavier Becerra on …