{"id":33638,"date":"2018-09-07T07:12:20","date_gmt":"2018-09-07T05:12:20","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.thefireflyinnovations.com\/home\/?p=33638"},"modified":"2018-09-07T08:44:44","modified_gmt":"2018-09-07T06:44:44","slug":"california-wildfires-yield-845-million-in-losses-so-far-a-change-is-coming","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thefireflyinnovations.com\/home\/2018\/09\/07\/california-wildfires-yield-845-million-in-losses-so-far-a-change-is-coming\/","title":{"rendered":"California wildfires yield $845 million in losses, so far A CHANGE IS COMING"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>[et_pb_section admin_label=&#8221;section&#8221;][et_pb_row admin_label=&#8221;row&#8221; make_fullwidth=&#8221;on&#8221; use_custom_width=&#8221;off&#8221; width_unit=&#8221;on&#8221; use_custom_gutter=&#8221;off&#8221; padding_mobile=&#8221;off&#8221; allow_player_pause=&#8221;off&#8221; parallax=&#8221;off&#8221; parallax_method=&#8221;off&#8221; make_equal=&#8221;off&#8221; parallax_1=&#8221;off&#8221; parallax_method_1=&#8221;off&#8221; parallax_2=&#8221;off&#8221; parallax_method_2=&#8221;off&#8221; column_padding_mobile=&#8221;on&#8221;][et_pb_column type=&#8221;2_3&#8243;][et_pb_post_title admin_label=&#8221;Post Title&#8221; title=&#8221;on&#8221; meta=&#8221;off&#8221; author=&#8221;off&#8221; date=&#8221;off&#8221; categories=&#8221;off&#8221; comments=&#8221;off&#8221; featured_image=&#8221;on&#8221; featured_placement=&#8221;background&#8221; parallax_effect=&#8221;off&#8221; parallax_method=&#8221;on&#8221; text_orientation=&#8221;center&#8221; text_color=&#8221;light&#8221; text_background=&#8221;on&#8221; text_bg_color=&#8221;rgba(0,0,0,0.56)&#8221; module_bg_color=&#8221;rgba(255,255,255,0)&#8221; title_all_caps=&#8221;off&#8221; use_border_color=&#8221;off&#8221; border_color=&#8221;#ffffff&#8221; border_style=&#8221;solid&#8221;]<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>[\/et_pb_post_title][et_pb_text admin_label=&#8221;Text&#8221; background_layout=&#8221;light&#8221; text_orientation=&#8221;left&#8221; use_border_color=&#8221;off&#8221; border_color=&#8221;#ffffff&#8221; border_style=&#8221;solid&#8221;]<\/p>\n<p>Ed Bledsoe rests as he searches through what remains of his home, Monday, Aug. 13, 2018, in Redding, Calif. Bledsoe\u2019s wife, Melody, great-grandson James Roberts and great-granddaughter Emily Roberts were killed at the home in the Carr Fire. (AP Photo\/John Locher)<\/p>\n<h4 style=\"text-align: right;\"><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\">Special note by The Firefly Innovations on the article:-<\/span><\/h4>\n<p style=\"text-align: right;\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">A\u00a0 CHANGE IS COMING<\/span>\u00a0 The Firefly Innovations is working hard to change the impact of wildfires<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"text-align: right;\">You can now also play a key role click &amp; learn what happens and<\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: right;\">how you can join \u201c<strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thefireflyinnovations.com\/home\/donate-to-reduce-wildfire-destruction\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Click learn and donate<\/a>\u201c<\/strong>\u00a0to reduce the wildfire impact.<\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: right;\">and stand a chance to win an $10,000 African Safari for your fires station and<\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: right;\">\u00a0<span style=\"text-decoration: underline; color: #0000ff;\"><strong>for your family<\/strong><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h4><strong>Residents and business owners have filed more than\u00a0$845 million\u00a0in\u00a0insurance claims:-<\/strong><\/h4>\n<p>as a result of this summer\u2019s Carr and Mendocino Complex wildfires, the first data on what\u2019s likely to be a massive bill from a series of blazes that have hit the state this year.<\/p>\n<p>More than 10,000 insurance claims have been filed for property losses as a result of these two Northern California fires, which damaged or destroyed more than 8,800 homes, 329 businesses, and more than 800 private autos, commercials vehicles, and\u00a0other types of property, Insurance\u00a0Commissioner Dave Jones said on Thursday morning.<\/p>\n<p>Those numbers are likely to climb as\u00a0claims\u00a0are adjusted and more people file with their insurers, Jones said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe worst may be yet to come,\u201d Jones said, noting that wildfire season peaks in the fall. \u201cThe problem is growing. The risk is growing. The trajectory is in the wrong direction.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The news came as another major fire broke out in northern California Wednesday.\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.ocregister.com\/2018\/09\/06\/abandoned-trucks-litter-california-highway-as-wildfire-rages\/\">The Delta Fire, north of Redding in Trinity National Forest, has grown to 15,000 acres<\/a>\u00a0and threatens hundreds of structures.<\/p>\n<p>Jones also updated data for the fires that erupted during a windstorm last October, destroying more than 7,000 buildings in at least eight counties across Northern California and killing 43 people, boosting the total losses to $10.4 billion.<\/p>\n<p>Those Sonoma and Napa blazes have become the costliest wildfires in American history in terms of insured loss, with property owners in Sonoma and Napa counties filing for $7.9 billion and $1.5 billion in damages, respectively. That $9.4 billion in claims from the two counties is a slight increase from the $9 billion reported last December.\u00a0 The 1991 Oakland Hills fire had previously held that title, with $1.7 billion in insured losses.<\/p>\n<p>Fires trigger other expensive natural disasters, he added. Residents, business owners and others have filed more than $736 million in insurance claims as a result of the Montecito mudslide in January, which destroyed more than 152 homes and 11 businesses, Jones said.<\/p>\n<p>The\u00a0claims\u00a0outlined Thursday underscore the unprecedented destruction California has endured over the past two years, Jones said.<\/p>\n<p>Confronted with losses, insurers are increasingly opting to not renew some policies, or are declining to write insurance policies for high-risk homes, Jones said.<\/p>\n<p>He urged homeowners to do three things: Review your policy, get a preliminary estimate from your insurer of the replacement cost, then talk to a contractor to get the actual cost of replacing your home.\u00a0 He recommended buying insurance that exceeds the replacement cost by 25 to 50 percent, because \u201csurge pricing\u201d after a fire can inflate the cost to rebuild.\u00a0 The demand for materials and labor causes prices to go up, he said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMost people mistakenly believe that it will cost to replace what it cost when they bought it on the market,\u201d he said. \u201cOften, the cost of replacement can exceed the market value of the home.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Property losses are just part of the cost of wildfires. Last year, California state agencies spent nearly $1.8 billion to fight wildfires.\u00a0And there are additional costs associated with damage to utilities, roads and business closures.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere is a ripple effect,\u201d said Patrick Reitz, chief of the\u00a0Idyllwild\u00a0Fire\u00a0Protection District, which fended off last July\u2019s Cranston Fire in the San Jacinto Mountains of Riverside County.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt cost $25 to $30 million to suppress the fire, but the overall economy lost closer to $50 million,\u201d he said. \u201cWe were without electricity; about 200 power poles had to be flown in by helicopter and hand dug, to replace. Caltrans had to replace guard rails and signs. Roads were closed. And there were costs to local governments, through lost tourist and utility taxes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Jones also released a new report,\u00a0\u201cTrial by Fire: Managing Climate Risks Facing Insurers in the Golden State,\u201d\u00a0which describes how climate change is a contributor to wildfire losses in California.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe are simply not doing enough, fast enough to get ahead of this problem,\u201d said Jones.<\/p>\n<p>Climate change doesn\u2019t cause wildfires. But it increases the likelihood and intensity. Advances in computer modeling allow scientists to make quantitative connections between extreme weather events and climate change, and climate change is making large wildfires more common because global warming has increased dry fuel, turning trees and grass into tinder.<\/p>\n<p>But rising damage costs are partly because of demographic shifts and development decisions that make natural disasters more destructive. People ignite the vast majority of fires, compared to those caused by natural processes like lightning strikes. And more and more people are building homes on lands bordering wildland areas in parts of the state suspectible to fires. For example,\u00a0in California, 3.6 million of the state\u2019s 8 to 9 million housing units are located in areas more at risk of wildfires<\/p>\n<p>The rise in population and wealth on land bordering wildland areas with a ballooning number of buildings in parts of the state susceptible to fires, is contributing to the increase in cost. For example, in California, 3.6 million of the state\u2019s 8 to 9 million housing units are located in\u00a0areas more at risk of wildfires.<\/p>\n<p>\u201c]<\/p>\n<p>Climate change creates three types of vulnerability for insurers: property loss, litigation and investment declines, said\u00a0Evan Mills of Energy Associates, a California-based energy and environmental consultancy, the climate policy experts at\u00a0UC Berkeley School of Law\u2019s Center for Law, Energy &amp; the Environment, and the California Department of Insurance.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSimultaneous and correlated economic damage can all occur together, and can compound one another, making the impact larger than any one of them alone,\u201d said Mills, who authored the \u201cTrial By Fire\u201d climate change report.<\/p>\n<p>[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text admin_label=&#8221;Re Blog &#8221; background_layout=&#8221;light&#8221; text_orientation=&#8221;left&#8221; use_border_color=&#8221;off&#8221; border_color=&#8221;#ffffff&#8221; border_style=&#8221;solid&#8221;]<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"text-decoration: underline; color: #0000ff;\"><strong>Re Blog from<\/strong><\/span>:-\u00a0 <strong>The Orange County Register<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>\u00a0 \u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.ocregister.com\/2018\/09\/06\/california-wildfires-yield-845-million-in-losses-so-far\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">https:\/\/www.ocregister.com\/2018\/09\/06\/california-wildfires-yield-845-million-in-losses-so-far\/<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<div class=\"byline\">By\u00a0<a class=\" author-name\" title=\"Posts by Lisa M. Krieger\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ocregister.com\/author\/lisa-krieger\/\" rel=\"author\">LISA M. KRIEGER<\/a>\u00a0|<\/div>\n<div class=\"time\">PUBLISHED:\u00a0<time datetime=\"2018-09-06T14:46:23+00:00\">September 6, 2018 at 2:46 pm<\/time><\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=&#8221;1_3&#8243;][et_pb_divider admin_label=&#8221;Divider&#8221; color=&#8221;#ffffff&#8221; show_divider=&#8221;off&#8221; height=&#8221;10&#8243; divider_style=&#8221;solid&#8221; divider_position=&#8221;top&#8221; hide_on_mobile=&#8221;on&#8221;]<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>[\/et_pb_divider][et_pb_sidebar admin_label=&#8221;Sidebar&#8221; orientation=&#8221;left&#8221; area=&#8221;et_pb_widget_area_3&#8243; background_layout=&#8221;light&#8221; remove_border=&#8221;off&#8221;]<br \/>\n[\/et_pb_sidebar][et_pb_text admin_label=&#8221;Text&#8221; background_layout=&#8221;light&#8221; text_orientation=&#8221;left&#8221; use_border_color=&#8221;off&#8221; border_color=&#8221;#ffffff&#8221; border_style=&#8221;solid&#8221;]<\/p>\n<h4 style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\">Develop your innovation skills<\/span><\/h4>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">and<\/p>\n<h3 style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\">build a better future\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\n<p>[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_button admin_label=&#8221;Button&#8221; button_url=&#8221;http:\/\/www.thefireflyinnovations.com\/home\/?p=30751&#8243; url_new_window=&#8221;off&#8221; button_text=&#8221;Back to the innovation blog&#8221; button_alignment=&#8221;center&#8221; background_layout=&#8221;light&#8221; custom_button=&#8221;on&#8221; button_letter_spacing=&#8221;0&#8243; button_use_icon=&#8221;default&#8221; button_icon_placement=&#8221;right&#8221; button_on_hover=&#8221;on&#8221; button_letter_spacing_hover=&#8221;0&#8243; button_text_size=&#8221;12&#8243;]<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>[\/et_pb_button][et_pb_divider admin_label=&#8221;Divider&#8221; color=&#8221;#ffffff&#8221; show_divider=&#8221;off&#8221; height=&#8221;60&#8243; divider_style=&#8221;solid&#8221; divider_position=&#8221;top&#8221; hide_on_mobile=&#8221;on&#8221;]<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>[\/et_pb_divider][et_pb_text admin_label=&#8221;Text&#8221; background_layout=&#8221;light&#8221; text_orientation=&#8221;left&#8221; use_border_color=&#8221;off&#8221; border_color=&#8221;#ffffff&#8221; border_style=&#8221;solid&#8221;]<\/p>\n<h3 style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"color: #3366ff;\">First-responder support posts<\/span><\/h3>\n<h4 style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><span style=\"color: #993366; text-decoration: underline;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thefireflyinnovations.com\/home\/first-responders-support-blog\/\">Click for the support blog<\/a><\/span><\/span><\/h4>\n<p>[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_image admin_label=&#8221;Image&#8221; src=&#8221;http:\/\/www.thefireflyinnovations.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/Boob-for-upgrade.gif&#8221; show_in_lightbox=&#8221;off&#8221; url_new_window=&#8221;off&#8221; use_overlay=&#8221;off&#8221; animation=&#8221;left&#8221; sticky=&#8221;off&#8221; align=&#8221;center&#8221; force_fullwidth=&#8221;off&#8221; always_center_on_mobile=&#8221;on&#8221; use_border_color=&#8221;off&#8221; border_color=&#8221;#ffffff&#8221; border_style=&#8221;solid&#8221; url=&#8221;http:\/\/www.thefireflyinnovations.com\/home\/first-responders-support-blog\/&#8221;]<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>[\/et_pb_image][et_pb_sidebar admin_label=&#8221;Sidebar&#8221; orientation=&#8221;right&#8221; area=&#8221;et_pb_widget_area_1&#8243; background_layout=&#8221;light&#8221; remove_border=&#8221;off&#8221;]<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>[\/et_pb_sidebar][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>[et_pb_section admin_label=&#8221;section&#8221;][et_pb_row admin_label=&#8221;row&#8221; make_fullwidth=&#8221;on&#8221; use_custom_width=&#8221;off&#8221; width_unit=&#8221;on&#8221; use_custom_gutter=&#8221;off&#8221; padding_mobile=&#8221;off&#8221; allow_player_pause=&#8221;off&#8221; parallax=&#8221;off&#8221; parallax_method=&#8221;off&#8221; make_equal=&#8221;off&#8221; parallax_1=&#8221;off&#8221; parallax_method_1=&#8221;off&#8221; parallax_2=&#8221;off&#8221; parallax_method_2=&#8221;off&#8221; column_padding_mobile=&#8221;on&#8221;][et_pb_column type=&#8221;2_3&#8243;][et_pb_post_title admin_label=&#8221;Post Title&#8221; title=&#8221;on&#8221; meta=&#8221;off&#8221; author=&#8221;off&#8221; date=&#8221;off&#8221; categories=&#8221;off&#8221; comments=&#8221;off&#8221; featured_image=&#8221;on&#8221; featured_placement=&#8221;background&#8221; parallax_effect=&#8221;off&#8221; parallax_method=&#8221;on&#8221; text_orientation=&#8221;center&#8221; text_color=&#8221;light&#8221; text_background=&#8221;on&#8221; text_bg_color=&#8221;rgba(0,0,0,0.56)&#8221; module_bg_color=&#8221;rgba(255,255,255,0)&#8221; title_all_caps=&#8221;off&#8221; use_border_color=&#8221;off&#8221; border_color=&#8221;#ffffff&#8221; border_style=&#8221;solid&#8221;] &nbsp; [\/et_pb_post_title][et_pb_text admin_label=&#8221;Text&#8221; background_layout=&#8221;light&#8221; text_orientation=&#8221;left&#8221; use_border_color=&#8221;off&#8221; border_color=&#8221;#ffffff&#8221; border_style=&#8221;solid&#8221;] Ed Bledsoe rests as he searches through what [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":33639,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[104],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-33638","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-fire-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thefireflyinnovations.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33638","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thefireflyinnovations.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thefireflyinnovations.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thefireflyinnovations.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thefireflyinnovations.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=33638"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/www.thefireflyinnovations.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33638\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":33650,"href":"https:\/\/www.thefireflyinnovations.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33638\/revisions\/33650"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thefireflyinnovations.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/33639"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thefireflyinnovations.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=33638"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thefireflyinnovations.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=33638"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thefireflyinnovations.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=33638"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}