wildfires News

Fires From 2023 Smoldering Under Snow Reveal Canada’s Dangerous New Reality

As skiers glide down the slopes of British Columbia’s Whistler Mountain and ice fishers drop their lines into frozen lakes in Alberta, dozens of the fires whose smoke darkened North America’s skies last year are still burning — with some …

California Insurer of Last Resort Is Unprepared for Big Disaster

California’s property insurer of last resort told lawmakers that it’s financially unprepared to cover the costs of a major catastrophe in the state. The plan now faces $311 billion in potential losses, up from $50 billion six years ago, California …

Huge Texas Blaze Shows Power-Line Fires Are a Widespread Threat

Massive wildfires sparked by power lines used to be a California problem, one many utility executives considered safely confined to the Golden State. No more. Texas officials on Thursday blamed the state’s largest-ever fire on electrical lines sparking in dry …

Viewpoint: How Public Adjusters Bridge The Gap in California’s Insurance Landscape

When you consider the types of disaster that might befall a California homeowner, flooding might not be the first thing that comes to mind. But as climate change triggers more erratic weather patterns, bringing more frequent and extreme natural disasters—including …

PacifiCorp Fire Victim Who Leapt in River Awarded $9 Million

A jury ordered a Berkshire Hathaway Energy Co. unit to pay nine homeowners at least $62 million for failing to prevent some Oregon wildfires in 2020, including $9 million for a man who jumped off a cliff into a river …

Startup AiDash Raises $50M for Tech Using AI, Satellites to Spot Wildfire Risk

A California startup using artificial intelligence (AI) and satellites to spot fire and weather risks on power lines, AiDash, reported on Tuesday it had raised $50 million in new funding, reflecting Silicon Valley efforts to create products that help energy …

Southerners Are Rekindling a ‘Fire Culture’ to Boost Longleaf Pine Range

WEST END, N.C. (AP) — Jesse Wimberley burns the woods with neighbors. Using new tools to revive an old communal tradition, they set fire to wiregrasses and forest debris with a drip torch, corralling embers with leaf blowers. Wimberley, 65, …

Encroaching Wildfires Prompt N.C. and Tenn. Campgrounds to Evacuate

PINNACLE, N.C. (AP) — Wildfires have prompted campgrounds in North Carolina and Tennessee to evacuate starting Sunday while firefighters prepared for high winds and low humidity on Monday, though officials hoped for some help from expected rain. The National Weather …

Details of California Wildfire Plan Sketchy But It’s Useful Marketing Tool for Data Vendors

A proposal by California’s insurance regulator to require insurers to write more policies in areas at risk of wildfires is more a promise than a plan, but the announcement is giving data analytics vendors a new way to pitch their …

US Climate Assessment Lays Out Growing Threats, Opportunities as Temperatures Rise

WASHINGTON, Nov 14 (Reuters) – Climate change harms Americans physically, mentally and financially, often hitting those who have done the least to cause it, including Black people facing floods in the South and minorities enduring searing heat in cities, a …