Brokers placing property risk in the Pacific Northwest and other markets not traditionally considered top-tier wildfire zones should take note of what just happened in Spokane, Washington.
The Spokane Complex fires have destroyed more than 700 structures, making it the city’s most destructive wildfire on record, and the event marks the third time since 2020 that a wildland fire has become an urban firestorm, following similar events in Colorado in 2021 and California in 2025.
A new pattern in wildfire risk
Unlike traditional wildland fires, urban firestorms occur when dense residential development, rather than forest, becomes the primary fuel source.
That shift matters for underwriting because it means wildfire exposure is no longer confined to the high-profile, historically wildfire-prone markets carriers have long modeled for, such as California and Colorado…