As climate change contributes to ever-worsening fire seasons in the Western U.S., more people are moving to the very areas most likely to burn.

An early morning crash on Highway 99 in Butte County left at least three people dead and two recovering from injuries, according to the California Highway Patrol.

Claims adjuster Agop Sarafian of La Crescenta, and chiropractor Shahe Topjian, D.C. of Granada Hills were recently arrested on felony insurance fraud charges after allegedly conspiring to defraud Sarafian’s employer, the State Compensation Insurance Fund (State Fund), by setting up fake workers’ compensation lien payments to receive undeserved insurance payouts of over $1.6 million.

Toyota expanded a worldwide fuel pump recall to a total of 5.84 million vehicles for a defect that could cause the part to fail. In the United States, the total number of vehicles involved in this safety recall is now approximately 3.34 million vehicles.

A power company in southern California says its equipment may have sparked a fast-moving wildfire that has forced evacuation orders for around 100,000 people and seriously injured two firefighters.

From Wednesday night into Thursday morning the East Troublesome fire in Grand County, Colorado exploded from 19,000 to 125,000 acres in just 12 hours, driven by wind gusts of up to 60 mph. It is now the fourth biggest fire in state history.

While 2020 has been a tumultuous year for risk managers domestically, California has seen more than its fair share of difficulties.

Wildfires in California have burned a record 4 million acres since the start of 2020, charring more land in the past nine months than during the previous three years combined. The results are devastating.

More evacuations were ordered Thursday in Northern California as wildfire-weary residents braced for a return of powerful winds that could stoke a blaze burning in the region’s wine country.

Cannabis farmers in the communities of Post Mountain and Trinity Pines, California are refusing to evacuate their cultivation sites even as the August Complex wildfires close in and weather forecasters predict more fire-friendly conditions, the Associated Press reports.

Two thousand people in California’s Napa Valley wine growing area have been ordered to evacuate their homes, and another 3,000 have been told to prepare to, amid rapidly-spreading wildfires which have destroyed at least one winery.

Federal investigators are looking into whether a huge wildfire burning in the mountains near Los Angeles was sparked by Southern California Edison utility equipment, according to the company.

California’s insurance commissioner announced a plan to tackle the state’s wildfire insurance crisis Wednesday, saying the state will collaborate with the industry to develop standards for “hardening” homes and communities against fire risk.

President Donald Trump has issued an emergency declaration for Oregon due to the deadly wildfires that have burned across the state and federal officials have also declared a public health emergency as dangerous, smoky conditions continue.

Wildfires fueled by extreme heat and high wind spread further across California, Oregon and Washington on Thursday, destroying hundreds of homes and killing at least seven people.