California Wildfire Lawyer

Pursuing a legal remedy against a utility company for damages stemming from a California wildfire requires a complex inquiry.

Victims must establish that one or more of the following can be proved with legally sufficient evidence:

• The utility company’s equipment caused the wildfire.
• Or the actions or inactions of utility company personnel caused the wildfire.
• Or the utility company’s policies or procedures were negligent or otherwise violated the law, leading to a cause of the fire.

To properly handle your case, you need an experienced California wildfire lawyer to investigate and advocate on your behalf.

Fire Insurance California – Does Homeowner’s Insurance Cover a Wildfire?

Sorting out the complexities of homeowner’s insurance is a pressing issue for victims of wildfires. Most people are under the impression that their homeowner’s insurance covers wildfire damage. While most policies do cover fire damage (even if a fire is not the result of an incident in the home), those who live in fire-prone areas may be required to purchase additional coverage explicitly related to wildfires.

The problem: some insurance companies do not disclose the need for this additional coverage (which can come at a significant cost), so policyholders are unaware that they lack coverage in a wildfire. Others have simply stopped providing policies for homes in fire-prone areas or dropped fire coverage altogether without informing policyholders. Even if you have an insurance policy that covers wildfire damage, the insurance company may seize upon any opportunity to deny coverage and limit their exposure, which could be many millions.

Post-Wildfire Victim Checklist

Victims of wildfires may find themselves overwhelmed at the volume of things they need to sort out before they can start rebuilding their lives. A client of ours, who lost his home in the Woolsey fire, shared this list to help others after a wildfire.

Short-Term Checklist for Wildfire Victims

1. Get a PO Box.
2. Longer term rental search. Include insurance on it so they pay directly for rental. Find a nice place that you like; don’t settle. You should be able to get a “Like Property” so insurance should cover a nice place for you to live while you work through all this. Remember, you could be living here for years, so choose wisely.
3. Buy sturdy boots, gloves and some shovels.
4. Start working on the personal property list. This is a difficult task, one that will be highly emotional. Write down the moment you remember anything and keep your list on a phone or carry a pad of paper with you at all times.
5. Save your receipts. Loss of use insurance will cover incidentals, including hairbrush, phone chargers, etc.
6. As you buy things, tell the store owner your situation. Most stores will give you some level of discount as their way of helping you.
7. Let people do things for you. Do you have a friend that you can send to the store to buy you some basic clothes or comfort foods? Let them do it.

Long-Term Checklist for Wildfire Victims

1. Register at the shelters, with Red Cross, FEMA and any other agency there. Most of the aid coming in will use these lists as a point of contact and this will help to ensure that you don’t get left out of anything. This will be especially important with FEMA, which operates on a first-come, first-served basis.
2. Call your homeowners/renters insurance to trigger your “Loss of Use” coverage. This will typically allow you to be in a “Like” property for a fixed amount of time with a dollar limit attached, depending on your policy’s terms. It should also give you some immediate access to funds for essentials, including clothes, toothbrushes, food, etc. This will also get the ball rolling for the insurance claim on your home, personal property, etc.
3. Get a PO Box and forward all mail. Use this PO Box as the mailing address on all forms you begin to fill out.
4. Start Searching for a long-term rental. Coordinate with your insurance company so that payments can be made directly from them using your “Loss of Use” money. Plan on renting 1-2 years, but do not necessarily sign a lease for a full two years, as circumstances can change.
5. Create an itemized list of belongings. This is very hard but very necessary for your claim. Organize by room and list everything that was there with a replacement cost. Replacement cost should be what it would cost to replace, not what it cost when it was on sale. Make sure you list everything, even if it is above and beyond your policy limit. This is very important because everything above and beyond the policy limit is considered a loss and can be claimed as such on your taxes. (See #9 below)
6. Call all of your utilities and either freeze, cancel service or update to PO Box.
7. Call the rest of your insurers as needed, including your car insurance or any specialty insurance for unique items.
8. Secure permits. An unfortunate necessity, you will need permits for:
   • Debris Removal: As things wind down it will be necessary to remove the debris, this usually requires a permit, but should be covered by your insurance.
   • Erosion Control: If you are on any kind of hill or have sloped property you will need to put some sort of erosion control measures in place, again this will need permitting.
   • Temporary Power Pole/Trailer On-Site Permit: Getting this earlier on can prove helpful in the rebuilding process.
9. Network with others. You will learn so much from others as you go through the rebuilding process. We all have our strengths, so share yours and accept help from others. The amount of time that you will spend on the rebuild, insurance, and recovery process is staggering, so you should use any and all resources at your disposal.

Your Advocate Fighting for Justice after a California Wildfire

Taking legal action is one of the best ways to correct the troubling corporate behavior of California utility companies responsible for wildfires. At Wisner Baum, we are not only invested in making you and your family financially whole again, we also want to send a message to any negligent companies responsible for starting a wildfire that California residents will not tolerate their wrongdoing.