“All the leaves are brown” as the song goes, only now they’re
on fire. This is when “California dreaming” can turn into a real nightmare. If
you haven’t been watching a lot of news, you
may not know California has been experiencing a severe drought for several
years, and is currently battling huge fires covering thousands of acres. While wildfires like this occur yearly, and take place all
over the country, whether caused naturally (usually by lightning), by arson,
or by human error, these current fires are particularly noteworthy due to their
size and the length of time they have been raging, most likely due at least in
part to the drought.
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| Image courtesy of commons.wikipedia.org |
Regardless of how the fires began, stoked by the combination of high
levels of fuel (dry vegetation caused by drought) and high winds, the results
have been devastating. Wildlife has been killed and their habitats burned, homes have been threatened or burned, and valuable resources are being expended expended to fight the
fires.
A few weeks ago I watched as news teams broke into regular
programming to show live footage of cars and trucks burning on a California
freeway, abandoned by drivers who could see the flames approaching, but who were
unable to drive to safety due to the amount of traffic. It was the first time I
had seen this many vehicles caught up in a wildfire like this. Luckily, all of
the drivers escaped with their lives. Many of their vehicles did not fare as
well, burning in HD for the entire country to see. Homes and other structures
are also being destroyed, but fortunately, not in relatively dramatic numbers
compared to past years. At least 43 homes were reportedly destroyed in just one
of the fires near Sacramento recently.
While touring one of the areas affected by fire recently,
California Governor Jerry Brown took the opportunity to blame Republican
presidential candidates, suggesting the fires were a product of climate change,
and asking “What the hell are you going to do about it?” Perhaps it was a
rhetorical question, or maybe it was because Republican candidates don’t take
Governor Brown seriously, but I don’t recall any of the candidates responding.
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| Image courtesy of en.wikimedia.org |
No sooner do these crews get a fire under control, when we hear of
evacuees being allowed back into their neighborhoods to assess the damage. Some
find total devastation, while others find their homes miraculously spared. For
those whose homes were reduced to rubble, they have to start from scratch.
Usually all that remains of a home after such a fire is the concrete slab and
the chimney (both of which - while clearly recognizable - are typically damaged
beyond repair).
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| Image courtesy of en.wikimedia.org |
In any event, if you have to suffer through a loss by wildfire, you will be spending many long hours
over the following weeks, months or years to present your claim. This will include proving what you owned, what was damaged, and what it was worth. Think about
it, if everything you ever owned was reduced to ashes, could you remember it all? And even
if you could remember it all, would you be able to prove to a stranger that it
existed to begin with, and that you owned it, and what condition it was in? Now
try all this while under extreme stress, or even depression. How many hoops do
you suppose it takes for the average person to jump through before they give up
on part (or all) of their claim under these conditions? And how many hoops do
insurance companies have at their disposal? In my experience, I can tell you
insurance companies have an average of one more hoop than the average claim
victim is willing to endure.
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This is why I not only recommend you hire a professional
public adjuster to handle your claim. We are not subject to the same emotions
and stresses as you, and we have the experience and tools to better follow
through on your claim. You also need to fully document your home and all your possessions in
advance of any disaster. You will be going through more than enough stress when
disaster strikes, so you might as well take measures in advance that will make
your recovery easier.
And finally, in one of life’s great ironies, some of the
fire-ravaged areas of California are expecting thunderstorms shortly that could
drastically help douse the fires, but also tend to create lightning with the
potential to spark even more fires.
Here’s hoping California’s nightmare of a fire season is
soon put to rest.
