As wildfires continue to burn out of control in most Western states during this troubling fire season, insured losses from the blazes have soared to $100 million, according to recent figures from the Insurance Information Institute.
The latest data from the National Interagency Fire Center show that, as of Aug. 18, ninety-two large, active fires were burning nearly 1.1 million acres in a dozen Western states. For the year, 68,316 fires have burned more than 5.2 million acres, most of which have occurred in the last four months.
The majority of the insured damage has come form the Cerro Grande wildfires that produced more than 6,000 property claims worth $70 million in the Los Alamos, N.M., area in May. The fires currently burning - mostly in sparsely populated areas of Idaho, Montana and Wyoming - have affected less insured property and are expected to cost insurers about $25 million.
