California Wildfire
Claims Attorney
If you have lost your home, been injured, or suffered property damage in a California wildfire, you may be entitled to significant compensation. Nordanyan Law fights for wildfire victims against insurance companies and negligent utility providers.
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Types of Wildfire Claims We Handle
Property Damage
Home destruction, structural damage, smoke damage, landscaping loss, and personal property replacement.
Personal Injury
Burns, smoke inhalation, respiratory illness, and physical injuries sustained during evacuation.
Wrongful Death
Fatal injuries caused by wildfire negligence — claims for surviving family members.
Insurance Bad Faith
Underpayment, delayed payment, or wrongful denial of wildfire insurance claims.
Business Interruption
Lost income, inventory damage, and operational disruption caused by wildfire.
Utility Company Negligence
Claims against power companies whose equipment or negligence caused or contributed to the fire.
What to Do After a California Wildfire
California wildfires have caused tens of billions of dollars in property damage and hundreds of deaths over the past decade. The 2017 Tubbs Fire, 2018 Camp Fire, 2020 Glass Fire, and the 2025 Eaton and Palisades fires in Los Angeles County each displaced thousands of families and triggered massive insurance and liability claims. If your home, business, or family has been affected, California law gives you specific rights — but those rights come with hard deadlines and complex evidentiary requirements.
Most wildfire victims have two parallel recovery paths. The first is the insurance claim against your own homeowners or renters policy, governed by California Insurance Code §§ 2051.5, 2060, 2071, and 10103.7. The second is a third-party liability claim against whoever caused or contributed to the fire — typically an investor-owned utility (PG&E, Southern California Edison, San Diego Gas & Electric) under the inverse condemnation doctrine, or a public entity under the Government Claims Act. These two tracks have different deadlines, different evidence requirements, and different settlement dynamics. Pursuing both correctly can multiply your recovery; pursuing them incorrectly can foreclose either.
The single most expensive mistake we see is policyholders accepting the carrier's first offer or signing releases before understanding the full scope of their loss. Replacement cost, additional living expenses, contents, smoke contamination remediation, debris removal, code upgrades, and landscaping all have separate sublimits and rules. A wildfire claim handled correctly is often two to four times the value of one handled on the carrier's terms.
California Wildfire Law — The Statutes That Govern Your Claim
Every figure below is from the current California Insurance Code, Code of Civil Procedure, and Government Code. Verify with counsel before relying on any deadline.
Standard fire insurance policy — proof of loss + suit deadlines
Requires the insured to submit a proof of loss within 60 days of the covered loss. The suit deadline against the insurer is 12 months from inception of the loss — but extends to 24 months when the loss is tied to a Governor-declared state of emergency (Gov. Code § 8558(b)). Every California wildfire of recent scale has been declared.
Personal property advance — 60% without itemization (state of emergency)
When a primary dwelling is a total loss in a state of emergency, the insurer must offer an advance payment of at least 60% of the personal property coverage limit, capped at $350,000, without requiring an itemized inventory. The insured can later file for additional amounts beyond the advance. Effective in current form January 1, 2026.
Replacement cost coverage + 36-month rebuild window
Indemnity is the amount it would cost to repair, rebuild, or replace without depreciation, up to the policy limit. After a state of emergency, the policyholder has at least 36 months from the first actual-cash-value payment to rebuild and still collect replacement cost benefits — with additional 6-month extensions available for delays beyond the insured's control (permits, contractor availability, materials).
Additional Living Expenses (ALE) — 24 months minimum after emergency
ALE coverage after a declared state of emergency must run for no less than 24 months from inception of loss, with up to 12 additional months on request when rebuilding is delayed by circumstances beyond the insured's control — total 36 months. Further 6-month extensions are available for good cause. This is the rent / temporary housing / extra commute / pet boarding line item; carriers routinely try to terminate it early.
Unfair Claims Settlement Practices Act — bad faith liability
Defines 16 specific carrier behaviors as unfair claims practices: misrepresenting policy provisions, failing to acknowledge claims promptly, failing to adopt reasonable investigation standards, denying claims without reasonable investigation, lowballing settlements, compelling litigation by offering substantially less than amounts ultimately recovered, and others. Bad faith damages can exceed the policy limit and include emotional distress and punitive damages.
3-year SOL — property damage / trespass
Three years from accrual to file suit for trespass or injury to real property. This is the typical limitations period for property damage claims against a utility or other third party that caused the fire.
2-year SOL — personal injury and wrongful death
Two years from the date of injury or death to file suit. Applies to burns, smoke inhalation, respiratory illness, PTSD claims, and wrongful death claims against utilities or other negligent parties.
6-month government claim deadline — much shorter than private SOLs
Claims against public entities (cities, counties, state agencies — NOT private utilities) for death, personal injury, or property damage must be presented within 6 months of accrual. Other claims have a 1-year presentation deadline. Missing this deadline normally bars suit entirely. If a public entity's emergency response, vegetation management, or planning failure contributed to your loss, this clock starts immediately.
What You Can Recover — Categories of Wildfire Damages
Wildfire recoveries have many components that carriers often pay separately under different policy sublimits. Knowing all of them is the difference between a partial recovery and a full one.
- Dwelling (Coverage A) — Repair or rebuild cost of the home structure up to the policy limit, with extended replacement cost endorsements potentially adding 25%-50% above limit.
- Other Structures (Coverage B) — Detached garages, sheds, fences, pools, retaining walls. Typically 10% of Coverage A.
- Personal Property (Coverage C) — Contents of the home. Subject to the § 10103.7 advance-payment rules for total losses in declared emergencies.
- Additional Living Expenses (Coverage D / ALE) — Rent, hotel, meals above normal, pet boarding, increased commute costs, storage. 24-36 months under § 2060 after a state of emergency.
- Debris removal — Almost always a separate sublimit (often 5% of Coverage A); CalRecycle and federal programs sometimes cover this so claims must be coordinated.
- Code upgrade / ordinance & law — The cost of rebuilding to current code (sprinklers, defensible space, fire-resistant materials). Often a low sublimit unless specifically endorsed.
- Landscaping — Trees, shrubs, irrigation systems. Usually capped at ~5% of Coverage A with per-item limits.
- Loss of use of business / business interruption — Commercial policies only. Lost income, payroll, fixed expenses during shutdown.
- Smoke and ash damage to a non-burned home — Often denied or undervalued. California has held that smoke and ash contamination is "direct physical loss" triggering coverage. Independent industrial hygienist testing is essential.
- Third-party / liability damages (utility or government claims) — Beyond insurance: compensatory damages (uninsured losses, deductibles, ALE shortfalls), emotional distress, annoyance and discomfort, loss of trees and aesthetic features, diminished property value, and in egregious cases, punitive damages.
How Insurance Carriers Underpay Wildfire Claims — And How We Counter
Lowballing the dwelling rebuild estimate
Our counter: Carriers' preferred contractors often estimate per-square-foot rebuild costs 30-50% below actual market rates in declared-emergency zones, where contractor demand surges. We retain independent licensed general contractors and certified estimators to produce competing Xactimate estimates with regional emergency-pricing modifiers.
Demanding a detailed itemized inventory for personal property
Our counter: § 10103.7 entitles you to a 60% advance (capped at $350,000) without itemization on a total loss in a declared emergency. We invoke that statute in the first demand letter so the carrier has to fund recovery while the longer inventory is built.
Terminating ALE early or capping it below the 24-month minimum
Our counter: § 2060(b)(1) sets a 24-month minimum after declared emergencies with 12 additional months on request for delays beyond the insured's control. We document permitting delays, contractor backlogs, and supply chain issues in writing — the statute then forces the extension.
Denying smoke and ash contamination as 'not direct physical loss'
Our counter: California courts have repeatedly held smoke and ash contamination is direct physical loss under standard fire policies. We order independent industrial hygienist testing for ash composition, PAHs, and heavy metals; that report typically reverses the denial.
Pushing arbitration / appraisal on disputed valuations
Our counter: Appraisal under § 2071 can be a fair process or a trap depending on the appraiser chosen. We vet appraiser candidates and, when the carrier's chosen appraiser has a clear pro-carrier history, refuse the proposed umpire and force court selection.
Offering a 'final' settlement before all sublimits are exhausted
Our counter: We never sign general releases until dwelling, contents, ALE, debris removal, code upgrade, landscaping, and any third-party (utility) claims are independently valued and resolved. A release signed early can foreclose six-figure separate-bucket recoveries.
How Nordanyan Law Handles Your Wildfire Claim
We work both tracks in parallel from day one. On the insurance side, we send a comprehensive demand within the first weeks invoking the statutory protections above — proof of loss timing, advance payment under § 10103.7, ALE minimums under § 2060 — so the carrier cannot use deadline confusion against you. On the liability side, we evaluate whether your fire's origin involved a utility (CAL FIRE OCEU origin and cause reports become public 6-18 months after the fire) or a public entity, and preserve the shorter Government Claims Act deadlines under § 911.2.
You pay nothing upfront and nothing unless we recover. All consultations are free and confidential, in English or Armenian.
Wildfire Claims FAQ
How long do I have to file a wildfire claim in California?
Different deadlines apply to different defendants. Against your own insurance carrier, you must submit a proof of loss within 60 days under Cal. Ins. Code § 2071, and a lawsuit within 12 months — extended to 24 months if the fire was tied to a Governor-declared state of emergency. Against a private utility (PG&E, SCE, SDG&E) the statute of limitations is 2 years for personal injury (CCP § 335.1) and 3 years for property damage (CCP § 338(b)). Against a public entity (city, county, state agency), the Government Claims Act under Gov. Code § 911.2 imposes a 6-month claim presentation deadline for personal injury / death / property damage — much shorter than private SOLs. Contact an attorney immediately to protect every track.
Can I sue the utility company for wildfire damage?
Yes. If an investor-owned utility's equipment or negligence caused or contributed to the wildfire, you may have a claim under the inverse condemnation doctrine (utility liability without proof of negligence when utility equipment is the substantial cause) as well as negligence-based claims for property damage, personal injury, and wrongful death. California courts have held utility companies liable for wildfires caused by downed power lines, faulty equipment, and failure to maintain vegetation clearance under Pub. Util. Code § 451 and § 8386.
What if my insurance company denies or underpays my wildfire claim?
Insurance companies in California must comply with the Unfair Claims Settlement Practices Act (Cal. Ins. Code § 790.03(h)), which prohibits 16 specific practices including failing to acknowledge claims promptly, denying without reasonable investigation, lowballing, and compelling litigation. If your claim is wrongfully denied, unreasonably delayed, or significantly underpaid, you may have a bad faith claim on top of your contract claim — bad faith damages can exceed policy limits and include emotional distress and, in egregious cases, punitive damages.
How much of my personal property does my insurer have to pay without an itemized inventory?
Under Cal. Ins. Code § 10103.7, when a primary dwelling is a total loss in a declared state of emergency, the insurer must offer an advance of at least 60% of the personal property coverage limit, capped at $350,000, without requiring an itemized inventory. The insured can later file for additional amounts beyond the advance. Every major California wildfire of recent scale has been declared.
How long do I have to rebuild and still collect replacement cost?
Under Cal. Ins. Code § 2051.5, after a declared state of emergency you have at least 36 months from the first actual-cash-value payment to rebuild and still collect replacement cost benefits — with additional 6-month extensions for delays beyond your control (permits, contractor availability, materials). Standard ALE coverage under § 2060 runs 24 months minimum after an emergency, extendable to 36 months for circumstances beyond the insured's control.
Do I need a lawyer for a wildfire claim?
Wildfire claims are complex — they often involve multiple parties (utility companies, government agencies, insurance carriers), massive documentation, two parallel recovery tracks (insurance + liability), and competing interests with different deadlines. An experienced attorney ensures you don't settle for less than your claim is worth, invokes the statutory protections in your favor before the carrier sets the framing, and handles the legal complexity so you can focus on rebuilding.