Insurance Commissioner: Time to prepare for wildfires
Insurance Commissioner: Time to prepare for wildfiresBy Elizabeth Marie Himchak
With the advent of fire season, California Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones visited Rancho Bernardo Thursday to remind locals that they should prepare a home inventory list now.
The list, along with doing an annual update of property insurance policies to reflect current rebuilding prices and home improvements, were among tips Jones gave during a press conference at the Rancho Bernardo home of Robin Kaufman.
Her house on Duenda Road in the Westwood neighborhood was one of 365 destroyed throughout Rancho Bernardo in the 2007 Witch Creek fire.
Kaufman said she learned the hard way that knowing what important papers, photos, clothing and irreplaceable items to take during an evacuation is not enough.
“You need to practice (packing),” she said, recounting how she had to unload and leave behind many mementoes from her vehicle once she realized her five dogs and their items could not also fit inside.
Jones said since two large-scale wildfires happened in San Diego County four years apart (2003 and 2007), and this October will be the fourth anniversary of the most recent, officials “are concerned about another dangerous season. It is important to take all steps necessary to defend (your property).”
Creating a defensible space of at least 100 feet was among tips presented by Assistant Fire Chief Jeffrey Carle from San Diego Fire-Rescue.
“Give us a running chance to stop a fire,” Carle said, mentioning many residents need to thin and clear vegetation and remove or relocate flammable items, such as patio chair cushions when high winds are present.
But even the most prepared, fire-resistant home can still be lost to flames, which is why those present repeatedly emphasized the need to carefully document everything in order to obtain the maximum insurance settlement.
“It is essential to create a list or better yet videotape the features of your home and keep (these records) in a safe place apart from your home,” Jones said. “This way you are prepared in the event of a disaster.”
Kaufman said what helped her when filing a claim was a video of her recently remodeled home that she sent to show a friend. After the wildfire, her friend returned the video so Kaufman could prove to her insurance company that home upgrades and items really existed.
“It is very important to have a pictorial inventory,” Kaufman said. “That saved me (when dealing with) my insurance company.
Current Wildfires In Southern California - News
Kaye Coates, United Policyholders' outreach coordinator for Southern California, said her group has created a flash drive that similarly walks people through the inventory and documentation process. While some may think it unnecessary to list every
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Firefighters grappled with a 100-acre wildfire burning near Southern California's Apple Valley (1); and a small wildfire was reported near Lake Skinner in Riverside County, as well (2); another being contained by Ventura County Fire Department after burning 78 acres along Highway 118 over the weekend (3); and a 325-acre wildfire was reported outside of Herlong (4); while air-tankers, helicopters, and firefighters on the ground grappled with a 23-acre wildfire in San Diego County (5). CAL FIRE responded to a four-acre wildfire that destroyed in outbuilding in Middletown, California (6); but homeowners in wildfire-prone parts of California may soon be paying an extra $150 firefighting levy (7). In a rare legal victory for the US Forest Service, an environmentalist-backed lawsuit against the Angora Fire Restoration Project, set to take place in California's South Lake Tahoe region, was shot down by a Sacramento judge (8). With a steady decline in the number of fire lookouts in Oregon and Northern California, the next article examines the situation and the promise of cameras as replacements (9); this at a time when fire officials in Central Oregon are concerned about a rash of 90 human-caused wildfires already this year (10). Air-tankers saw some action over a 123-acre wildfire near Carson City, Nevada (11); and firefighters also battled a blaze in northern Reno (12). In his efforts to rehabilitate areas burned by the Wallow Fire, US Sen. John Kyl introduced the Arizona Wallow Fire Recovery and Monitoring Act for a vote in the U.S. Senate (13); but in the aftermath of those wildfires, Burn Area Emergency Recovery teams are struggling to save the endangered Chiricahua Leopard Frog (14). An article from New Mexico's Gallatin National Forest takes a closer look at helitack team training (15); followed by an article about that state's agricultural emergency response plans to protect livestock from wildfires (16).Current Wildfires In Southern California - Bookshelf
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