Friday, December 5th, 2003 — Late in the afternoon of Oct. 26, an innocently started signal fire jumped its containment and spread into the wilds of San Diego County ahead of gusting Santa Ana winds.
Over the ensuing days, this and nine other Southern California fires expanded into one of the worst firestorms in California history killing more than 20 people, destroying hundreds of thousands of acres, leveling 3,600 homes and disrupting the lives of countless residents.
Current loss estimates are $1.5-$2.5 billion. Every insurer writing in Southern California has responded with extraordinary personnel and assets to service their policyholders‘ needs during this difficult time. Adjusters from as far away as the East Coast have been deployed to assist with this tragedy. Already, lessons learned from the 1991 Oakland, Calif., fires are being implemented in hopes that all losses may be fairly and equitably settled in short order.