wildfires News

Chile’s Second-Largest Refinery Shuttered Due to Power Outage Following Wildfires

The Aconcagua refinery, Chile’s second-largest with a capacity to process 102,000 barrels per day (bpd) of crude, has been shut down since Friday following a power outage caused by forest fires raging in the country, its owner said on Sunday. …

Colombia Declares National Disaster as Wildfires Spread Through Parched Forests

Colombia declared a national disaster as wildfires spread through drought-hit forests and filled the capital, Bogota, with smoke. Environmental authorities reported 31 separate blazes on Thursday, after months of hot, dry weather caused by the El Nino weather phenomenon. Some …

California Has Lowest Number of Fire Departments Per 100K People, Report Shows

California topped the ranking for the states with the fewest fire departments per 100,000 people, a new study shows. The study out this week shows California tied with Florida, and Nevada ranking second and Arizona ranking third. The report, commissioned …

Top West Insurance Journal Stories of 2023

Insurers pulling back from an increasingly risky California market grabbed the attention of Insurance Journal readers this year. This was the subject of the top four most popular stories in Insurance Journal’s West region in 2023. Eight articles on this …

California Awards $21.7M to Boost Climate Resilience Across the State

A new Regional Resilience Grant Program aims to protect California communities from climate impacts like wildfire, drought, sea level rise and extreme heat. State leaders have unveiled a $21.7 million funding initiative in the inaugural round of California’s Regional Resilience …

Drought-Prone California Oks New Rules for Turning Wastewater into Drinking Water

When a toilet is flushed in California, the water can end up in a lot of places – the ice in a skating rink, the manufactured snow on ski slopes, in pipes providing irrigation for farmland. And – coming soon …

Hawaii Governor’s First Budget After Maui Wildfire Includes Funds for Recovery and Fire Prevention

Hawaii Gov. Josh Green said he was requesting $425 million from lawmakers during the next fiscal year to help Maui recover from August’s wildfires, and millions more to reduce the risk of wildfires statewide. The proposed budget is Green`s first …

Climate Change, El Niño Bring T-Shirt Weather in December for Northern Hemisphere

It’s the cusp of winter in the Northern Hemisphere, but in many places from the US to Japan, it feels more like spring — and forecasters say that’s a sign of what to expect over the next couple of months, …

Berkshire Utility Reaches $299 Million Oregon Fire Accord

Berkshire Hathaway Energy Co.’s PacifiCorp said it will pay $299 million to settle claims over wildfires that burned homes in southwest Oregon, averting another jury trial in litigation that has already exposed the utility to billions in damages. The accord, …

Australia Faces Increased Risk From Bushfires Ahead of El Niño Summer

Australia faces an increased risk of bushfires during the approaching summer, authorities warned on Thursday, with the El Niño weather pattern expected to generate hotter and drier conditions across large swathes of the country. Three years of incessant rain has …