Associated Press Writer

Wildfires that burned thousands of homes in California last year were the most expensive in history for the insurance history, and other wildfires have burned hundreds of homes in Arizona and Colorado.

With another bad fire season predicted this year, insurance companies are nervously watching forecasts and urging forest-dwelling homeowners throughout the West to clear brush, trim trees and take other steps to protect their homes.

So far, though, most insurance companies haven't raised rates or restricted homeowners. Instead, they are largely hoping that the massive fires were a fluke.

"It was an anomaly of sort," said Bill Mellander, spokesman for Allstate, of the California fires. "A fire event of that size you think is not going to be an everyday event."

In California alone, insurers processed more than 19,000 claims and paid out $2.04 billion in damages from last October's Cedar and Old fires, according to the Insurance Services Office Inc. That number was almost half of all the premiums collected in California the year before.

Another bad fire season is expected this year, with dry conditions in southwest Arizona, New Mexico, Southern California, Washington and Oregon making them susceptible to fires, said Rick Ochoa, national fire weather program manager for the Bureau of Land Management in Boise, Idaho.

"I think it's going to be worse this year in the Northwest," he said. "This year we're seeing larger areas of dryness."

Insurance companies are paying attention to the forecasts, and they are encouraging homeowners to clear brush, trim trees, remove firewood and re-evaluate roofs. But they are not making those steps a requirement of coverage. Safeco insurance is re-examining its risk in some areas, but says the review is routine and not related to wildfires losses.

Some Colorado insurers, however, take the precautions a step further.

State Farm last year began requiring 24,000 homeowners in fire-prone areas of six Western states — Arizona, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming — to fix hazards on their property. The move was prompted by drier conditions and wildfires like the 2002 Hayman fire in Colorado that destroyed 133 homes.

Policies could be dropped if homeowners don't cooperate.

So far, the response has been good, with the majority of homeowners cooperating, said Maria Taylor, spokeswoman for State Farm.

"I think it protects everybody," she said.

Colorado Farm Bureau Mutual Insurance Co. has always required homeowners in fire-prone areas to clear brush around their homes, said Bill Benedetti, underwriting vice president.

"We do have a heightened awareness to it, but it's nothing different than what we've been doing," he said. The insurer has about 1 percent of the Colorado market.

Diane and John Benge of Woodland Park, Colo., who lost their cabin to the 2002 Hayman fire, were required by the insurer to clear trees within 30 feet of their new house. The couple also got a discount for building a stucco and siding house with a metal roof.

The requirements, Mrs. Benge said, "should be a given."

"I think if you're going to live in the forest, it's probably a good idea for safety more than anything," she said.

Foresters have encouraged insurance companies for years to require homeowners to clear brush and trees and to use fire-resistant building materials, especially on roofs.

John Garamendi, California's insurance commissioner, doesn't understand why more companies don't require those precautions.

"It should be that way," he said. "Some companies do it that way and other companies just look at maps and don't bother looking at the house. They don't have a clue where the house is or what the risks are. I think that's wrong."

More companies are looking at the requirements, said Pete Moraga, spokesman for the Insurance Information Network of California.

"If the homeowners haven't kept up the clearance, there may be changes in the way that policy is drafted for the following year," he said.

Companies may not be as strict about policy requirements as State Farm, but "the trend for most companies is moving in the same direction," said Carole Walker, executive director of the Rocky Mountain Insurance Information Association, a trade group that represents the insurance industry in Colorado, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming.

"Each company is going to take their own look at their risk," she said.

New Mexico's insurance superintendent, Eric Serna, isn't sure making brush clearing mandatory would work.

"Where do you draw the line? What does it mean, put concrete around your house, clean your yard every three days? Believe me, insurance adjustors perhaps would find a way not to have to provide that coverage for a loss," Serna said.

Meanwhile, insurance companies are bracing for another unpredictable fire season.

"We're absolutely worried about the year," said Eric Trott, spokesman for Safeco, a Seattle-based insurance company. "You hear the weather forecast and the prediction and it makes you cross an awful lot of fingers."

On the Net: Allstate, www.allstate.com; State Farm, www.statefarm.com Insurance Information Network: http://iinc.org; Rocky Mountain Insurance Information Association, www.rmiia.org/; Safeco: http://safeco.com