Few Insured Losses From Recent Calif. Fires So Far

Property losses have been few from the fires raging throughout California, despite more than 400,000 acres of California woodlands going up in smoke, officials said.

According to the state's Department of Forestry and Fire Protection Web site, so far 60 structures have been destroyed from 1,459 fires throughout the state consuming more than 435,894 acres. Of the 60 structures, 31 were homes.

Gary Kerney, assistant vice president of Property Claim Services, a subsidiary of Jersey City, N.J.-based Insurance Services Office Inc., while wildfires are numerous in California and other western states, none have "damaged a significant number of insured properties to be declared a catastrophe."

While no catastrophe serial number has been assigned, PCS said it is continuing to monitor the situation.

However, a huge number of structures are endangered by the blazes. As of late last night a total of 11,286 structures were declared threatened, 8,076 of which were homes. Most of the fires are raging in northern California.

Tully Lehman, a spokesman with the Insurance Information Network of California, said the fact that so few homes were destroyed was "amazing," noting that many of the fires are in remote regions and firefighters are letting those blazes burn themselves out.

He estimated that since the fire season began in May more than 200 homes have been destroyed, and while no single event has triggered a catastrophe designation, collectively they might.

A very worrisome development is the Gap Fire in Santa Barbara that began last night, said Mr. Lehman. At its outbreak it threatened 200 homes. The reason for the concern, he said, was that no fires have started in that part of the state in decades, and that means a lot of potential fuel to allow the fire to spread.