Wildfire Claims

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Wildfires Move Fast. So Do We.

When wildfire losses mount, you need forensic answers quickly.  

Rimkus deploys credentialed experts to the field from our 70+ offices across the United States to deliver the data and professional expert findings needed to resolve claims, support coverage decisions, and manage exposure. 

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The Problem

Why Wildfire Claims Are Different

Wildfire losses are rarely simple. Damage extends well beyond the burn zone, claims touch many disciplines at once, and the teams handling them face three pressures together.

Compliance

Carriers have to do right by policyholders while staying inside contract and regulatory requirements. The core questions are whether there is a covered loss and what that loss is worth.

Responsiveness

Multiple parties compete for access to the same loss sites. Delays in reaching a scene mean delays in forensic data, reporting, and resolution.

Risk and Exposure

Managing exposure depends on defensible facts gathered early, from real rebuild costs to the reach of indirect damage.

The loss reaches further than the fire

Wildfire damage is not limited to what burns. Smoke and soot can affect structures and interiors well beyond the fire perimeter, including HVAC systems, and post-fire events such as heavy rain, mudslides, and slope instability can drive related claims. Knowing the full reach of a loss is the first step to handling it correctly.

The 2026 Wildfire Season at a Glance

What Our Experts Are Watching This Wildfire Season

Our experts track the national fire outlook so your teams don’t have to. Here is how Rimkus’ expert Meteorology team reads the current picture for the 2026 season, and what it means for the exposure you are managing.

The 2026 outlook points to an active western season. Snowpack ran far below normal through the spring, drought still covers roughly 61 percent of the country, and a developing El Niño is expected to shape conditions into the fall.

The result is an earlier and longer window of elevated fire potential across much of the West, with the heaviest concentration building in the Northwest and northern Rockies as summer progresses.

U.S regional significant wildfire risk, July through October 2026

Region

July

August

September

October

Northwest

Above Normal

Above Normal

Above Normal

Normal

Northern California

Above Normal

Above Normal

Above Normal

Normal

Southern California

Near Normal

Normal

Normal

Normal

Great Basin

Above Normal

Above Normal

Above Normal*

Normal

Southwest

Above Normal*

Normal

Normal

Normal

Northern Rockies

Above Normal*

Above Normal

Above Normal*

Normal

Rocky Mountain

Above Normal*

Above Normal*

Normal

Normal

Eastern Area

Normal

Normal

Normal

Normal

Southern Area

Above Normal*

Above Normal*

Normal

Normal

Alaska

Normal

Normal

Normal

Normal

 *Above normal risk is localized within the region (see detailed regional notes below) 

Key takeaways

  • Northwest & Great Basin: 
    • Above normal fire potential through September, driven by persistent drought, rapid fuel curing, and warm/dry conditions. Some areas (e.g., northwest Washington, west-central Oregon) have elevated risk due to insufficient rainfall and deep drought. 
  • Northern California: 
    • Above normal risk in mountainous and eastern areas July–September; normal risk near the coast and Sacramento Valley. Risk returns to normal in October. 
  • Southwest: 
    • Above normal risk in northern Arizona and northwest New Mexico in July, returning to normal as the monsoon matures and brings increased rainfall. 
  • Rocky Mountain: 
    • Above normal risk on the West Slope in July, shifting to southwest Wyoming in August, then returning to normal by September as monsoon moisture increases. 
  • Southern Area (Carolinas, Florida, Puerto Rico): 
    • Above-normal risk in the Carolinas and south Florida in July–August due to drought and heat. Risk may persist if tropical activity is subdued. 
  • Eastern Area: 
    • Normal risk overall, with only brief periods of elevated danger in drought-affected areas during dry, windy spells. 
  • Alaska & Hawaii: 
    • Normal risk expected throughout the outlook period, though localized dry areas in Alaska may see increased activity. 

Knowing where and when wildfire potential peaks helps you position resources before the calls come in. Rimkus experts are already located across these regions and ready to mobilize, so you can move from notice to answers without losing time to vendor coordination.

Plan Ahead With an Expert

Source: National Interagency Coordination Center, National Significant Wildland Fire Potential Outlook, issued July 1, 2026, covering July through October 2026.
Interpretation by Rimkus experts.

The Rimkus Response

What Does This Outlook Mean for Your Claim?

Rimkus is built to relieve those pressures. Our work maps directly to priorities of speed, defensibility, and recovery.

Accelerate Claim Resolution

Rapid expert deployment and a single integrated team move claims toward resolution without the handoffs that slow things down.

Meet Contract Requirements

We provide the objective findings and valuation that inform your coverage decisions, with scientifically sound documentation you can stand behind.

Validating Exposure

We establish real rebuild costs against surge pricing, assess the reach of indirect smoke and soot damage, and help identify recovery opportunities.

Why Rimkus

End-to-End Expertise Across the Lifecycle of a Wildfire Claim

Rimkus is a worldwide provider of engineering and technical consulting. Clients choose Rimkus for expert technical support with wildfire losses because we offer a single-source solution to handling any technical challenge a wildfire may bring. Our extensive team means we serve as one partner that can carry a claim from the field through environmental and industrial hygiene analysis, property loss and building consulting, and litigation support – rather than having to coordinate several vendors against the clock.  

Founded in 1983, we have supported large, complex wildfire investigations for years, across thousands of claims. Our teams have assisted clients with claims arising from the most significant wildfire events of recent years, including Kincade (CA – 2019); Zogg (CA -2020); Dixie (CA-2021); Marshall (CO-2022); Lahaina (HI-2023); Smokehouse Creek (TX-2024); Eaton and Palisade (CA-2025) fires.  

Our clients know they can count on us for timely investigations, clear communication, and scientifically sound solutions to complex problems. 

900+

More than 900 credentialed experts

70+

Offices across the United States

45+

Expertise across 45+ disciplines

Coverage and Proximity

Close to the Loss, Ready to Respond

Wildfire risk is concentrated, and proximity matters when site access is challenging. Our office network across the Western US and beyond positions our teams to mobilize quickly to loss locations across the highest-risk regions.

Map of Rimkus office locations across wildfire-prone regions of the United States

Representative coverage for general awareness only — not operational or evidentiary use.

Find Your Nearest Team
Built for Your Side of the File

Services Spanning Your Role in the Claim

For Insurers and Adjusters

  • Objective damage assessment and valuation that support your coverage determinations
  • Fire timeline mapping to establish when a property was damaged relative to the coverage period
  • Smoke and soot assessment for indirect damage beyond the burn zone
  • Real rebuild-cost estimating against surge pricing
  • One integrated team across every discipline a wildfire claim touches

For Law Firms

  • Credentialed experts with deposition and trial experience
  • Defensible reporting that holds up under scrutiny
  • Litigation readiness, including early advisory and retainer engagement
  • Subrogation support involving utilities and suppliers
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The Wildfire Claim Lifecycle

One Partner, From First Notice to Final Resolution

A wildfire claim moves through predictable stages, and the damage reaches further than the fire itself. Rimkus supports every stage, so nothing stalls between vendors.

First Notice
Final Resolution

01

Field Response & Origin and Cause

Rapid deployment, scene access, evidence preservation, and forensic origin and cause investigation.

02 

Environmental & Industrial Hygiene

Smoke, soot, and contamination analysis — including HVAC and interiors beyond the burn zone.

03 

Property Loss & Building Consulting

Damage assessment, structural review, and repair-versus-replace analysis to document scope.

04 

Estimating & Valuation

Real rebuild costs against surge pricing, reserve support, and valuation inputs that clarify exposure early.

05 

Litigation & Subrogation Support

Causation analysis, defensible reporting, recovery support, and trial-ready expert testimony.

Talk to a Wildfire Claims Expert See Coverage Near Your Loss
Meet Our Experts

The Experts Behind the File

Wildfire claims demand specialists, not generalists. Meet the credentialed engineers, scientists, and forensic experts who lead our wildfire work.

Kieran J. Purcell

Director, Environmental Practice

View Bio
Gregory Quinn

Gregory J. Quinn

Director, Meteorology Practice

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Samuel L. Sharpless

VP, Mechanical and Electrical Engineering

View Bio

Matthew J. Stevens

Director of Estimating and Mitigation

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J. Phil Wilbourn, II

Director, Property Practice

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Thought Leadership

Rimkus Expert Contributes to AIHA’s Award-Winning Wildfire Impact Assessment Guide

Wildfire Damage Investigation for a Colorado Sports Complex 

Forensic Evaluation of the Dixie Fire Claims 

On-Demand Webinar | Watch Anytime 

Evaluating Structural Damage from Catastrophic Events 

Learn how our experts assess fire damage to buildings, including the extent of damage and whether to repair or rebuild, questions at the heart of every wildfire property claim. The session also covers tornadoes, hail, hurricanes, and earthquakes, showing the full range of catastrophe expertise Rimkus brings.  

Presented by Brad Miller, Senior Practice Leader, Property Practice at Rimkus.

Watch now
Adjuster Questions

Frequently Asked Questions

Yes. Wildfire smoke, soot, ash, and fine particulates can travel well beyond the fire perimeter and affect structures, interiors, contents, and HVAC systems that never touched flame. Confirming whether contamination is present, and to what extent, calls for industrial hygiene expertise, sampling, and analytical testing rather than a visual inspection alone.

Yes. Rimkus provides trial-ready experts with demonstratives, exhibits, deposition, and testimony support across fire science, engineering, and building disciplines. Many bring extensive deposition and testimony experience, reinforced by our in-house deposition readiness training.

Yes. Origin and cause investigation is coordinated alongside building consulting, structural review, and damage scope by the same group, so findings carry consistently from cause through repair or rebuild analysis.

Rimkus supports subrogation by establishing how and where a fire started and documenting the evidence that points to responsibility. Our fire origin and cause, mechanical and electrical, and materials experts evaluate potential ignition sources such as utility equipment, power lines, and defective products, producing defensible analysis that supports recovery involving utilities and suppliers.

Rimkus establishes timing by reconstructing the fire and weather conditions tied to a specific location and date. Using WeatherPath, our in-house weather data application, along with GIS fire progression mapping, forensic meteorology, and site evidence, our experts help determine when a property was affected relative to the coverage period. This directly answers questions as to timing that can shape a claim.

Rimkus brings a multidisciplinary team to wildfire claims, spanning environmental and industrial hygiene, property loss consulting, building consulting and cost estimating, fire origin and cause, mechanical and electrical engineering, and forensic meteorology. This single-source approach means one provider can evaluate structural damage, smoke and soot impact, restoration scope, and causation, then support any resulting litigation.

Wildfires often trigger secondary events that generate their own claims. Once a fire strips and destabilizes terrain, heavy rain can bring flooding, mudslides, debris flows, and slope instability, while soil and water contamination and lingering smoke and soot exposure can surface later. Rimkus evaluates both the direct fire loss and these downstream impacts.

Yes. With local and regional response capacity near wildfire-prone regions, Rimkus can scale across multiple sites and coordinate catastrophe response under one accountable relationship.

Wildfire investigation and smoke damage assessment are moving toward more standardized, science-based methods as new regulation and legislation develop. Recent and proposed measures, most prominently in California, aim to create consistent protocols for inspecting, sampling, testing, and restoring smoke-damaged property, which raises the standard of care expected of the vendors who perform this work. For investigators, that means greater emphasis on defensible methodology, thorough documentation, and recognized industry guidance such as the AIHA technical guide for wildfire impact assessments.

Rimkus supports insurers and the law firms representing them with consistent, defensible findings delivered by one multidisciplinary team. For carriers, that means objective damage assessment, valuation, and timely field response; for counsel, it means clear reporting and credentialed experts with deposition and trial experience. The same engagement can carry a matter from initial investigation through litigation.

Get Started

Talk to a Wildfire Claims Expert

Whether you have a wildfire loss to investigate or want to plan ahead for the season, reach out and we will connect you with the right expert. Many clients engage Rimkus early for pre-event strategy, then rely on us for rapid response when events occur.

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