wildfire risk News

California Says Wildfires Are Making Home Insurance Unaffordable

More frequent and intense wildfires are making it harder for homeowners to find and keep insurance in California, a state regulator warned Thursday. “The problem of insurance availability is going to expand” after last year’s record-breaking wildfires, California Insurance Commissioner …

California Wind, Fire Danger Hits Unprecedented High

Southern California has felt yellow wind, orange wind, and red wind. But never purple wind. Until now. The color-coded system showing the expected strength of the winds driving the region’s fierce wildfires has reached uncharted territory, pushing past red, which …

Arizona Blazes Grow as 2017 Wildfire Season Peaks

Multiple wildfires have prompted evacuations in southern Arizona and a highway closure in northern Arizona as the state heads into peak wildfire season. Rising temperatures, dry vegetation and lighting continue to spark fires throughout the state. Tiffany Davila, a spokeswoman …

Above Average Wildfire Risk Expected for Southwest, Florida

Wildfires this summer are expected to be most severe in southwestern U.S. states, Florida, Georgia and in some parts of California and Nevada, forecasters said Monday. The summer 2017 fire outlook issued by the National Interagency Fire Center in Boise …

1.8M Western U.S. Homes at Extreme or High Wildfire Risk

Things haven’t gone as bad as they could have so far in 2016 coming off last year’s record-setting wildfire season in the Western U.S., according to a report out today detailing wildfire risks to properties in the Western U.S. The …

Western Oklahoma Escapes Wildfires Despite Dry Heat

An Oklahoma forestry official said Monday that the western part of the state “dodged a bullet” when no wildfires developed despite conditions described as “critical fire weather” by the National Weather Service. Conditions were definitely ripe for wildfire in western …

El Nino Has Yet to Dampen Drought-Stricken California

Ed Heinlein surveys the steep mountainside that has repeatedly unleashed tons of mud into the backyard of his Southern California home since a 2014 wildfire and still hopes the drought-stricken state gets more rain. “We have to have the rain,” …

CoreLogic: Washington Chelan Wildfire Threatens More Than 13,000 Homes

Close to 13,121 homes with a combined reconstruction cost of more than $3 billion are at some level of risk from the Chelan Wildfire, according to CoreLogic hazard risk analysis. The homes at risk are located in the following Washington …

Researchers Link Amazon Wildfire Risk to U.S. Hurricanes

Researchers from the University of California, Irvine and NASA have uncovered a remarkably strong link between high wildfire risk in the Amazon basin and the devastating hurricanes that ravage North Atlantic shorelines. The climate scientists’ findings appear in the journal …

Flames Not the Only Risk From Wildfires

California is on fire—again. About 130,000 acres have been scorched in more than 20 major fires actively burning in the state, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. But the flames are not the only danger. Post-fire …