Fire Relief Resources

Wildfires continue to burn in Santa Clara County and surrounding areas. Many have been forced to evacuate their homes due to the SCU Lightning Complex fires in the eastern parts of the county and the CZU Lightning Complex fires in Santa Cruz and San Mateo Counties.

Here are some helpful resources:

You can view an evacuation map here.

Air Quality Information that allows you to search by zip, city, or state.

If you have been affected by these wildfires and need assistance, you can apply for a grant from the California Association of REALTORS​® Disaster Relief Fund. This fund has been helping the REALTOR® family recover from natural disasters for more than 15 years. They provide grants up to $5,000 to help REALTORS®, their staff, and association staff who have incurred losses due to natural disasters.

Many insurance companies are ramping up prices or outright refusing to renew policies in fire-prone areas. C.A.R. has put together several fire insurance one-sheets to keep you and your clients informed about how to protect your homes, keep your insurance coverage and find new coverage when necessary.

Last December the CA Dept of Insurance implemented a one-year moratorium on insurance agencies not extending fire insurance on zones impacted by the fires last year. Unfortunately, this did not include Santa Clara County as we were not heavily impacted. Regardless, even in Santa Clara County, for an insurance agency to drop a client and not renew their insurance they must provide notification in writing 45 days before expiration.

Unfortunately, during a transaction, if an insurance agency refuses to provide insurance, they have that right and there is not much we can do. This is a larger issue of major insurance overall and policy change which would have to be done at the state level.