Wildland Fires
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Fire plays an important role in the life of a forest, clearing away dead wood and undergrowth to make way for younger trees. But for much of the last century, fire-suppression policies have sought to extinguish wildfires as quickly as possible to preserve timber and, increasingly, real estate. These policies have led to the accumulation of brush and other vegetation that is easily ignited and serves as fuel for wildfires. Most of the large fires with significant property damage have occurred in California, where some of the fastest developing counties are in forest areas.
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2007 CALIFORNIA WILDFIRES
In October 2007 a series of wildfires broke out across Southern California, damaging thousands of homes and causing widespread evacuations. The largest of these fires, the October 21 Witch fire, resulted in $1.3 billion in insured losses and ranks among the three most damaging wildfires since 1970, in 2007 dollars. In June wildfires in the Lake Tahoe area burned 254 dwellings and other structures on the California side of Lake Tahoe. Known as the Angora fire, the disaster caused losses of $100 million to $150 million, as estimated by RMS. The Angora blaze did not meet ISO's catastrophe criteria in terms of the number of policyholders and insurers affected.
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THE TEN MOST COSTLY WILDLAND FIRES IN THE UNITED STATES (1)
($ millions)
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Estimated insured loss |
Rank |
Date |
Location |
Dollars when occurred |
In 2007 dollars (2) |
| 1 | Oct. 20-21, 1991 | Oakland Fire, CA | $1,700 | $2,587 |
| 2 | Oct. 25-Nov. 4, 2003 | Cedar Fire, CA | 1,060 | 1,194 |
| 3 | Oct. 21-24, 2007 | Witch Fire, CA | 1,300 | 1,300 |
| 4 | Oct. 25-Nov. 3, 2003 | Old Fire, CA | 975 | 1,098 |
| 5 | Nov. 2-3, 1993 | Los Angeles County Fire, CA | 375 | 538 |
| 6 | Oct. 27-28, 1993 | Orange County Fire, CA | 350 | 502 |
| 7 | Jun. 27-Jul. 2, 1990 | Santa Barbara Fire, CA | 265 | 420 |
| 8 | May 10-16, 2000 | Cerro Grande Fire, NM | 140 | 169 |
| 9 | Jun. 23-28, 2002 | Rodeo Chediski Complex Fire, AZ | 120 | 138 |
| 10 | Sep. 22-30, 1970 | Oakland & Beverly Hills Fire, CA | 25 | 133 |
(1) Property coverage only for catastrophic fires. Effective January 1, 1997, Property Claim Services (PCS) Unit defines catastrophes as events that cause more than $25 million in insured property damage and that affect a significant number of insureds and insurers. From 1982 to 1996, PCS used a $5 million threshold in defining catastrophes. Before 1982, PCS used a $1 million threshold.
(2) Adjusted to 2007 dollars by the Insurance Information Institute.
Source: ISO's Property Claim Services Unit; Insurance Information Institute. |
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TOP TEN CATASTROPHIC WILDLAND FIRES IN CALIFORNIA, 1970-2007 (1)
($ millions)
Rank |
Date |
Location |
Dollars when occurred (2) |
In 2006 dollars (3) |
| 1 | Oct. 20-21, 1991 | Oakland, Alameda Counties, CA | $1,700.0 | $2,516.3 |
| 2 | Oct. 25-Nov. 4, 2003 | San Diego County, CA, "Cedar" | 1,060.0 | 1,161.4 |
| 3 | Oct. 25-Nov. 3, 2003 | San Bernardino County, CA, "Old" | 975.0 | 1,068.3 |
| 4 | Nov. 2-3, 1993 | Los Angeles County, CA | 375.0 | 523.2 |
| 5 | Oct. 27-28, 1993 | Orange County, CA | 350.0 | 488.3 |
| 6 | Jun. 27-Jul. 2, 1990 | Santa Barbara County, CA | 265.0 | 408.8 |
| 7 | July, 2007 | Lake Tahoe | 150.0 (4) | 150.0 |
| 8 | Sep. 22-30, 1970 | Oakland-Berkeley Hills, CA | 24.8 | 128.9 |
| 9 | Nov. 24-30, 1980 | Los Angeles, San Bernardino, Orange, Riverside, San Diego Counties, CA | 43.0 | 105.2 |
| 10 | Jul. 26-27, 1977 | Santa Barbara, Montecito, CA | 20.0 | 66.5 |
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(1) Estimated insured losses.
(2) Effective January 1, 1997, Property Claim Services (PCS) defines catastrophes as events that cause more than $25 million of insured property damage and that affect a significant number of insureds and insurers. From 1982 to 1996, PCS used a $5 million threshold in defining catastrophes.
(3) Adjusted to 2006 dollars by the Insurance Information Institute.
(4) Estimate; ISO figures haven't been issued for this fire.
Source: ISO's Property Claim Services Unit; Insurance Information Institute. |
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TOP TEN STATES FOR WILDLAND FIRES RANKED BY NUMBER OF FIRES, 2007
Rank |
State |
Number of fires |
Number of acres burned |
| 1 | California | 9,093 | 1,087,110 |
| 2 | Georgia | 8,726 | 837,895 |
| 3 | North Carolina | 7,000 | 54,658 |
| 4 | Florida | 4,918 | 578,346 |
| 5 | South Carolina | 3,842 | 17,064 |
| 6 | Oklahoma | 3,519 | 69,907 |
| 7 | Alabama | 3,373 | 64,262 |
| 8 | Tennessee | 3,361 | 48,572 |
| 9 | Oregon | 2,561 | 648,046 |
| 10 | Arizona | 2,240 | 101,381 |
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Source: National Interagency Coordination Center. |
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TOP TEN STATES FOR WILDLAND FIRES RANKED BY ACRES BURNED, 2007
Rank |
State |
Number of fires |
Number of acres burned |
| 1 | Idaho | 1,473 | 1,980,552 |
| 2 | California | 9,093 | 1,087,110 |
| 3 | Nevada | 891 | 890,414 |
| 4 | Georgia | 8,726 | 837,895 |
| 5 | Montana | 1,875 | 778,079 |
| 6 | Oregon | 2,561 | 648,046 |
| 7 | Utah | 1,423 | 620,730 |
| 8 | Florida | 4,918 | 578,346 |
| 9 | Alaska | 448 | 525,017 |
| 10 | Washington | 1,268 | 214,925 |
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Source: National Interagency Coordination Center. |
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