wildfires News

Oregon Regulator to Investigate Pacificorp’s Request to Limit Wildfire Liability

Oregon’s utility regulator this week said it would investigate a petition by PacifiCorp to limit its liability from future wildfire-related lawsuits, delaying a decision on the power provider’s request by as long as nine months. In October, the Berkshire Hathaway …

Mississippi Loosens Burn Ban After More Rain and Fewer Wildfires

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — Recent rain has helped improve drought conditions enough for Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves to partially lift a statewide burn ban. Reeves, the Mississippi Forestry Commission and the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency said the burn ban will …

Low-Intensity Fires Reduce Wildfire Risk by 60%, Study Finds

There is no longer any question of how to prevent high-intensity, often catastrophic, wildfires that have become increasingly frequent across the Western U.S., according to a new study by researchers at Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health and Stanford …

Viewpoint: Reinsurance Solution Would Help Homeowners Exposed to Wildfires Face the Challenge

Wildfire has become an increasingly challenging threat in many Western States. With an ever-increasing frequency and intensity, this continues to pose a serious threat to lives and properties across the exposed area. Wildfires are occurring earlier in the season and …

Many US Cities Vulnerable to Low Water Pressure Amid Wildfire Dangers

Hours before devastating fires scorched the historic town of Lahaina on Maui, Kyle Ellison labored to save his rental house in Kula, a rural mountain town 24 miles away, from a different blaze. As high winds whipped burning trees and …

Washington Asks Insurers to Expedite Approval Process for Debris Removal After Wildfires

Washington Insurance Commissioner Mike Kreidler sent a letter asking insurance companies and adjusters working with communities impacted by the Gray and Oregon Road fires to expedite the approval process for debris removal. Speeding up the process will help assure people …

Tech Startups in US, France, Germany Help in Fight Against Wildfires

This year has been a challenging one for Phil Schneider, who hasn’t seen wildfire behavior like this in his 47-year firefighting career. Blazes raged through more than 2,000 acres of wildland in recent months in his county deep in the …

Berkshire Hathaway Energy Shows Unusual Risk Appetite in Wildfire Court Fight

Berkshire Hathaway Energy Co.’s PacifiCorp has been battered in an unprecedented court fight over the utility’s failure to prevent massive wildfire destruction in Oregon. The largest grid operator in the western US faces the risk that it will have to …

US Home Insurance ‘Bubble’ Closer to Popping as Climate Risks Mount: Report

Home insurance costs that have soared in much of the US may get even higher. Tens of millions of properties around the country are insured at prices that haven’t caught up with the danger of hurricanes, wildfires and floods, according …

US Already Sets Record for Yearly Billion-Dollar Weather Disasters

The deadly firestorm in Hawaii and Hurricane Idalia’s watery storm surge helped push the United States to a record for the number of weather disasters that cost $1 billion or more. And there’s still four months to go on what’s …