in 2020 that killed 15 people and razed 2,352 structures. As of May 30, the agency has battled 1,205 wildland fires in 2023.
"Insurance rates in California jumped after wildfires became more devastating than anyone had anticipated. A series of fires that broke out in 2017, many ignited by sparks from failing utility equipment, exploded in size with the effects of climate change. Some homeowners lost their insurance entirely because insurers refused to cover homes in vulnerable areas," the Times reported.
"Not only do you have an increased frequency and severity of disasters, but you also have to look at it from the insurers' perspective," said Michael Barry, chief communications officer at the Insurance Information Institute. "They're operating in, like the rest of the economy, a high inflation environment."