CA Homeowners Near Wildfires Won't Lose Insurance

CALIFORNIA — Californians affected by another devastating fire season will not lose their property insurance for a year thanks to a moratorium that came down this week.

The state temporarily banned insurance companies from dropping some 325,000 policyholders who live in areas devastated by wildfires in 22 counties.

Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara on Monday issued a moratorium that ordered policymakers to preserve residential insurance coverage for those living within the perimeter or adjoining ZIP code of a declared wildfire disaster, regardless of whether they suffered a loss.

"Climate change-fueled wildfires continue to devastate homeowners and communities. My moratorium orders help provide short-term relief as we address the root causes of these ever-intensifying natural disasters,” Lara said in a statement.

Lara's ability to issue such an order comes from a 2018 law he authored while serving as a state senator. The law providds temporary relief from nonrenewals for those living within a fire area.

This summer, Gov. Gavin Newsom declared six emergency declarations as fires raged across the state. Emergency orders were issued in the following counties: Alpine, Amador, Butte, Calaveras, El Dorado, Glen, Humboldt, Lake, Lassen, Mendocino, Modoc, Mono, Nevada, Placer, Plumas, Shasta, Sierra, Siskiyou, Tehama, Trinity, Yolo and Yuba.

A one-year protection from nonrenewal began on the date the governor declared an emergency for each fire, including the Dixie, Caldor, River, Tamarack, Antelope, McFarland, Monument, Fly and Cache fires, according to Lara's office.

Californians can check the state's department of insurance website to verify if their ZIP code is included in the moratorium.

"I am using every tool possible to protect consumers in the wake of climate change-intensified natural disasters and to stop bigger losses," Lara said.

In a year in which the state faced extreme drought, dry forest fuels and unpredictable weather, hundreds of thousands of people in California could see their homes threatened by wildfire. Others will lose their homes.

Last year, California weathered its largest wildfire season yet, with more than 10,480 structures destroyed. Some 7,566 wildfires in California this year have damaged or destroyed more than 3,000 homes and other buildings and torched well over 2.3 million acres since the beginning of the year. In comparison to the same time last year, there were 8,278 wildfires that burned more than 3.6 million acres.

Cal Fire, the state's leading fire agency, created a tool in partnership with local sheriff's departments to monitor fire damage and archive photos of homes and businesses in communities across California. The search engine is updated daily at 9 p.m. and is available to keep residents up to date.

Cal Fire's forestry mapping tool can be accessed here.

Simply go to this link to search any address in California. Click on the home or structure to see if it has been identified by an icon. The agencies may also post pictures of the damage that can be seen when you search an address.

For example, here is a map of all damage that was accounted for so far in the Caldor fire burning in Northern California.

There isn't much a homeowner can do in the event of a wildfire — except evacuate safely — but officials have listed several preventive measures that can be taken ahead of fire season to protect a home or structure from damage.

"Most of the houses I've examined very likely ignited from small spot ignitions on or adjacent to the home — not from the big crown fire flames," said Jack Cohen, a research fire scientist with the U.S. Forest Service. "That means a homeowner can easily do fuel reductions that can potentially save their homes."

The following are home protection tips provided by the U.S. Forest Service.

• Eliminate all flammable materials (potential fuels) within 10 feet of the house.
• Consider any wood roof flammable. Wet the whole roof frequently.
• Remove flammable materials from decks or boardwalks. If it's connected to the house, consider it part of the house.
• Remove pine needles from gutters and the roof.
• Staple metal window screening over any openings or gaps, including low decks, walkways and crawl spaces.
• If possible, place sprinklers to wet the area around the house, especially within 60 feet of the house.
• Reduce or eliminate surface fuels starting at the house to within 100 feet of the house, and prune lower limbs of trees at least 8 feet above the ground.

Historic drought tied to climate change is making wildfires harder to fight. It has killed millions of trees in California alone. Scientists said climate change has made the West much warmer and drier in the past 30 years and will continue to make weather more extreme and wildfires more frequent and destructive.

More than 9,500 firefighters were working the frontlines of 11 major fires on Tuesday. This same time last year, more than 19,000 first responders were working to quell gargantuan fires that swallowed wine country and killed multiple people.