On October 20, 1991, a small brush fire started in the hills above Oakland, California. Fanned by high winds, unseasonably high temperatures and low humidity, the fire spread rapidly, burning nearly three square miles of affluent neighborhoods within the wooded hillsides. When it was over, the Oakland Hills Fire was labelled the worst urban disaster in U.S. history. The conflagration caused an estimated $2 billion in damage, including the loss of homes, businesses and lives.

My first wildfire case was the Oakland Hills fire, and was for the home of Dr. Stephen Walrod. Walrod’s attorney referred the case to me.

State Farm had initially offered Walrod $300K for the structure and $250K for the contents. I increased the structure settlement to $1.2 million and the contents to $850K – all the result of a landmark lawsuit.

I soon represented one of Walrod’s neighbors, who lost a beautiful custom home in the wildfire. State Farm had placed those residents in a shared apartment with a graduate student. Once I was involved, I had State Farm provide them living quarters that met the definition of equivalent living standards required in the policy. Needless to say, with what the insurance company was paying for those expensive living quarters, they rebuilt that home quickly.

Another settlement was for a house burned, but not a total loss. I increased the repair settlement from $120K to $560K and the contents from $100K to $380K.

Another client of mine who lived several doors down from Walrod had their settlement increased from $600K to $1.6 million, and in mediation, had their contents claim increased from $300K to $850K.

I had a total of 15 cases in the Oakland Hills firestorm, and all of those houses were rebuilt within two years of the fire.

References available upon request for the cases above