The preliminary insured loss from the June Colorado wildfires total $449.7 million, with the Waldo Canyon blaze becoming the costliest conflagration in the state’s history, according to the Rocky Mountain Insurance Information Association (RMIIA).
Over 600 homes and personal property claims have been filed so far and the final loss may be much higher, the Tuesday statement said, adding the figures do not include commercial losses.
The estimated insured loss from the Waldo Canyon Fire in Colorado Springs is $352.6 million based on approximately 4,300 claims, making it Colorado’s most expensive wildfire in history, the RMIA said. The 2012 Fourmile Canyon Fire was previously the state’s costliest wildfire with an estimated $224 million in insured damage (adjusted for inflation in today’s dollars.)
The number of homes destroyed by the Waldo blaze is 346, the statement said citing local officials.
The concurrent High Park Fire near Colorado’s Fort Collins region has an insured loss estimate of $97.1 million accounting for 259 homes lost and triggering 850 insurance claims.
“The 2012 Wildfire Season is a heartbreaking reminder to Coloradans that the wildfire threat is very real in our state and can exact a price that is both personally devastating and costly in terms of insurance damage,” said RMIA executive director Carole Walker in the Tuesday statement.