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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 real estate. This approach has 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.
Nine of the ten largest wildfires, in terms of insured property losses, occurred prior to 2007, according to ISO data. A 1991 wildfire in Oakland, California tops the list with $ $2,687 in insured losses in 2008 dollars. 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 $1.4 billion in insured losses and was the second most damaging wildfire since 1970, in 2008 dollars. In 2008, there were no wildfires that met ISO's catastrophe criteria in terms of the number of policyholders and insurers affected.
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THE TEN MOST COSTLY WILDLAND FIRES IN THE UNITED STATES (1)
($ millions)
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Estimated insured loss |
Rank |
Date |
Location |
Dollars when occurred |
In 2008 dollars (2) |
| 1 | Oct. 20-21, 1991 | Oakland Fire, CA | $1,700 | $2,687 |
| 2 | Oct. 21-24, 2007 | Witch Fire, CA | 1,300 | 1,350 |
| 3 | Oct. 25-Nov. 4, 2003 | Cedar Fire, CA | 1,060 | 1,240 |
| 4 | Oct. 25-Nov. 3, 2003 | Old Fire, CA | 975 | 1,141 |
| 5 | Nov. 2-3, 1993 | Los Angeles County Fire, CA | 375 | 559 |
| 6 | Oct. 27-28, 1993 | Orange County Fire, CA | 350 | 521 |
| 7 | Jun. 27-Jul. 2, 1990 | Santa Barbara Fire, CA | 265 | 437 |
| 8 | May 10-16, 2000 | Cerro Grande Fire, NM | 140 | 175 |
| 9 | Jun. 23-28, 2002 | Rodeo Chediski Complex Fire, AZ | 120 | 144 |
| 10 | Sep. 22-30, 1970 | Oakland & Beverly Hills Fire, CA | 25 | 138 |
(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 $1 million threshold.
(2) Adjusted to 2008 dollars by the Insurance Information Institute.
Source: ISO's Property Claim Services Unit; Insurance Information Institute. |
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TOP TEN CATASTROPHIC WILDLAND FIRES IN CALIFORNIA, 1970-2007 (1)
($ 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, 2008
Rank |
State |
Number of fires |
Number of acres burned |
| 1 | Texas | 16,713 | 1,570,586 |
| 2 | California | 5,812 | 1,339,839 |
| 3 | Oklahoma | 5,572 | 196,563 |
| 4 | Georgia | 5,454 | 23,081 |
| 5 | North Carolina | 4,414 | 95,938 |
| 6 | Alabama | 3,103 | 32,447 |
| 7 | Florida | 2,939 | 156,102 |
| 8 | South Carolina | 2,626 | 15,751 |
| 9 | Mississippi | 1,898 | 27,399 |
| 10 | Arizona | 1,850 | 85,496 |
| Source: National Interagency Coordination Center. |
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TOP TEN STATES FOR WILDLAND FIRES RANKED BY ACRES BURNED, 2008
Rank |
State |
Number of fires |
Number of acres burned |
| 1 | Texas | 16,713 | 1,570,586 |
| 2 | California | 5,812 | 1,339,839 |
| 3 | New Mexico | 1,207 | 487,652 |
| 4 | Oklahoma | 5,572 | 196,563 |
| 5 | Montana | 1,424 | 166,842 |
| 6 | Florida | 2,939 | 156,102 |
| 7 | Washington | 1,303 | 147,264 |
| 8 | Colorado | 1,133 | 141,966 |
| 9 | Oregon | 1,766 | 136,572 |
| 10 | Idaho | 997 | 116,796 |
| Source: National Interagency Coordination Center. |
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 Download/View File: California Leading Writers (PDF) (8 K) | |
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