L.A. wildfire news and resources
Woods-affiliated scholars are available to provide insights on a number of issues related to the 2025 Los Angeles-area wildfires. See recent reporting below, and visit wildfire.stanford.edu for additional resources and help reaching Stanford experts.
Los Angeles Wildfire News Coverage
Noah Diffenbaugh says that climate change is clearly warming not only the planet but also Southern California. It's likely exacerbating wildfire conditions.
Michael Wara says wildfires are increasing insurance costs in California. The resulting claims from wildfire damage are too much for the state-run insurer to handle.
Michael Wara says the insurance rate increases for those in high-risk wildfire areas are only "a preview... of what is to come."
According to Michael Wara, '[insurance carriers] are looking at this situation and saying, this is supposed to happen one in 100 years, not three times in 10.'
Michael Wara says that if the FAIR Plan charges the industry, it will show that fires are aggressively destroying California's insurance market.
Michael Wara says fire detection tech can help detect and contain fires but can't be relied on entirely. It's important not to overlook mitigation and prevention.
Finding how a wildfire started is difficult. As Michael Wara puts it, "you're basically throwing a crime scene in an oven."
Danielle Venton shares her conversation with Michael Wara about how insurance rates are increasing in high-risk areas.
Michael Wara discusses the insurance landscape during the LA wildfire crisis.
Chris Field says once communities are burning, "it doesn't really have anything to do with forest management." A large fire break couldn't keep fire out at that point.
Michael Wara says the Bay Area could easily have a similar situation as LA's current wildfire crisis. "We've been there before. We could be there again."
Deborah Sivas says the hilly terrain of places like Pacific Palisades will make it hard to clean up after wildfires.
Michael Wara discusses private firefighters: insurance companies think they are highly effective while he thinks they might not be able to get to a scene fast enough.
Michael Wara says being the insurance commissioner in California is "more of a ceremonial vehicle for political posturing than for crafting serious policy."
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