California Wildfires Consume 1,026 Homes, Buildings
By Daniel Hays
NU Online News Services, Oct. 27, 3:29 p.m. EST?Officials said wildfires ravaging California had destroyed more than 1,000 homes and other structures and killed 14 persons by 3 p.m. today, as insurers scrambled to assess the loss.
Early yesterday, when only a fraction of that destruction level was reached, an official state estimate put the insured damage at over $60 million.
"CAT teams are moving in and starting to report," said Pete Maraga, a spokesman for the Insurance Information Network of California. He said he had not immediate figures noting that the damage was rising, "hour by hour."
A spokesperson for the California Office of Emergency Services said at 3 p.m. the total number of homes and other structures burned was 1,026 and that 423,370 acres had been consumed by fire.
He said there were 14 fatalities recorded so far and 46 injured.
Calif. Gov. Gray Davis, in a letter sent yesterday to President Bush seeking a federal disaster area declaration for Los Angeles, San Bernardino San Diego and Ventura counties, said that 92 homes and structures had burned and "we currently estimate private sector damages to be more than $120 million.
"Historically, insurance coverage for fire victims in California averages approximately 50 percent. Damage to public infrastructure in the affected area is unknown at this time, because the area is largely inaccessible."
Mr. Davis' letter said that the state OES would work with staff from the Federal Emergency Management Agency to conduct damage assessment "when conditions allow safe entry into fire-ravaged areas. The governor declared Los Angeles and San Diego counties in a state of emergency yesterday.
Mr. Maraga's group last week noted figures from the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection showing more than 7.2 million California homes are in high fire severity zones that could be affected by wildfire behavior.
IINC said 585,000 homes in the areas with most fire danger posed a potential financial loss of $106 billion.
According to IINC the insurer with the biggest share of the homeowners market is State Farm.
Ena Alcaraz, a spokesperson for the company, said that State Farm is still trying to assess damage and has activated a toll free line, 800-SFCLAIM for policyholders to use in processing claims.
Athough no accurate damage totals have arrived, Safeco Chief Executive Officer Mike McGavick took noted of the situation today in a conference call on company results. "As fires burn in California, it is obvious that there will be some catastrophe impact in the fourth quarter that was unanticipated, " he said.
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