Megan Fan Munce

California wildflower map: locations of the best blooms now Flowers are springing up across California, including in Death Valley National Park and Mount Tamalpais State Park.

Flowers are springing up across California, including in Death Valley National Park and Mount Tamalpais State Park.

A graphic advertising a candidate forum for California Insurance Commissioner titled, "Protecting Homes in the Wildland-Urban Interface." The event takes place on April 9, 2026 from 1 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. at SPUR, located at 654 Mission Street in San Francisco. The candidates participating are State Senator Ben Allen, former San Francisco supervisor Jane Kim, financial analyst Patrick Wolff and attorney Meritt Farren. The forum is moderated by Megan Munce of the San Francisco Chronicle.

Excited to be part of this conversation happening next month on how four of California's candidates for Insurance Commissioner will approach the FAIR Plan, wildfire mitigation discounts, housing development in the WUI and more.

You can register for a spot here: www.spur.org/events/2026-...

Super proud that our investigative series into wildfire insurance was recognized as a semifinalist for the Goldsmith Prize for Investigative Reporting! TY @shorensteinctr.bsky.social :) goldsmithawards.org/announcing-t... @meganmunce.bsky.social @saradinatale.bsky.social

California FAIR Plan insurance can range from $92 to $32,000. This map shows costs by ZIP code One customer in San Jose pays just under $31,900 to be covered by the state’s insurer of last resort. Most Californians don’t pay quite so much, though the FAIR Plan is pricey.

We've updated our map of California FAIR Plan premiums with the insurer's latest data.

As of Sept. 2025, the cost of fire insurance for FAIR Plan homeowners ranged from just $92 a year to just under $32,000. Check your own ZIP code at @sfchronicle.com:

www.sfchronicle.com/home-insuran...

Gold (Regional/Local) goes to @sfchronicle.com for highlighting the systemic use of a flawed insurance estimator tool

From the judges: “5 states announced an unprecedented probe into underinsurance following wildfires – a direct result of this stellar reporting”

www.sfchronicle.com/projects/202...

Mudslides trap drivers, bury roads and damage homes in Southern California Flooding and mudslides have buried roads, damaged homes and trapped drivers in several Southern California communities.

apnews.com/article/muds... trap drivers, bury roads and damage homes in Southern California

California adds new disclosure rules for people selling homes in fire-prone areas The requirement, which went into effect this summer, is meant to push homeowners to make their properties more fire-resistant.

The requirement, which went into effect this summer, is meant to push homeowners to make their properties more fire-resistant.

‘Erin Brockovich’ made this cancer-causing compound famous. Now it’s been found in L.A. fire debris Hexavalent chromium, a carcinogen made famous by the film “Erin Brockovich,” is being found in the air near L.A. wildfire debris sites, researchers say.

In a pre-print study, air quality researchers found the carcinogen hexavalent chromium in the air near wildfire debris sites, possibly from fire suppressant.

They're cautioning residents to use PPE until further testing confirms whether levels have gone down.
www.sfchronicle.com/california/a...

Map: Here’s how much the California FAIR Plan costs in every ZIP code New data shows just how much Californians in every ZIP code are paying to be insured by the FAIR Plan, the state’s insurer of last resort.

For the first time ever, the California FAIR Plan is disclosing how much homeowners in every ZIP code pay to be insured by the state's insurer of last resort.

@sfchronicle.com has it mapped here:

www.sfchronicle.com/california/a...

So glad to hear your home is safe! Experts said normal outdoors cleaning will work, just make sure none of the dust is able to get recirculated/that you wear protective gear if you're cleaning yourself. Wishing you all the best on your road to recovery, thank you for reading our work!

Toxic metal found in L.A. air after fires. No one knows where it’s coming from A little-known and highly dangerous earth metal used to craft spaceships has been found in wildfire-ravaged homes and in the air in Los Angeles. Experts are shocked — and alarmed.

Hi Susan, here is a gift link to get past the paywall, please feel free to share this link with anyone else who may be affected by these findings!
www.sfchronicle.com/california-w...

San Francisco Zoo CEO resigns after months of controversy, and nudge from Lurie Tanya Peterson, the San Francisco Zoo’s longtime CEO, has resigned following controversies that raised questions about her leadership. She faced pressure from Mayor Daniel Lurie and others.

Over a year after I published an investigation into employee concerns about animal welfare and worker safety at SF Zoo, the director has given notice.
www.sfchronicle.com/sf/article/z...

Toxic metal found in L.A. air after fires. No one knows where it’s coming from A little-known and highly dangerous earth metal used to craft spaceships has been found in wildfire-ravaged homes and in the air in Los Angeles. Experts are shocked — and alarmed.

Beryllium has been used to craft nuclear weapons and shield astronauts from the heat of reentry. It's also known to cause cancer or chronic respiratory disease.

This is the first time anyone's ever found it in a home after a wildfire.

W/ @susien.bsky.social!

www.sfchronicle.com/california-w...

‘Explosive increase’ of ticks that cause meat allergy in US due to climate crisis Unusually aggressive lone star ticks, common in the south-east, are spreading to areas previously too cold for them

Ticks that cause a bizarre allergy to meat in people are advancing across a warming US, experts warn.

Lone star ticks are aggressive, too. “They will hunt you, they are like a cross between a lentil and a velociraptor,” one alpha gal sufferer told me.

www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...

They can’t get fire insurance. So California wineries are seeking out fire trucks and military tech As summer approaches and Napa Valley’s vineyards grow lush, the specter of wildfire looms. So the community, particularly its vintners, have taken matters into their own hands.

As summer approaches and Napa Valley’s vineyards grow lush, the specter of wildfire looms. So the community, particularly its vintners, have taken matters into their own hands.

California homeowners will need to change how they landscape their homes. Here's what will be allowed California’s Zone Zero regulations are expected to ban grass and wood fencing within 5 feet of homes. Here's what else is included and excluded in the rules.

California’s Zone Zero regulations are expected to ban grass and wood fencing within 5 feet of homes. Here's what else is included and excluded in the rules.

May 28, 2025 BOE Board Meeting YouTube video by BoardOfEqualization

The CA Board of Equalization's two hour hearing into the role of algorithms in underinsuring wildfire victims, inspired by a Chronicle investigation, is about to kick off.

Tune in:
youtu.be/sApQ5mANgBU

Public comment:
www.boe.ca.gov/app/public-c...

Fought for months to get this footage of Palisades Fire.

Exclusive for @sfchronicle.com

www.sfchronicle.com/california-w...

State Farm asks for another double-digit California home insurance rate hike Under State Farm’s new request, its condo rates in California would soar, and homeowners rates would jump an additional 11%.

Another entry in the breaking State Farm saga:

A new filing submitted this afternoon reveals State Farm is pursuing its original 30% rate hike request at the full rate hearing slated for this fall. That would cumulatively be an 11% increase on top of the emergency 17% they were granted last week.

Some of the most wildfire-prone parts of California will no longer have 24/7 eyes on them headed into traditional wildfire season because of NWS staffing shortages:

Update: Commissioner Lara announced just now he's adopted the judge's decision. But he reiterates he expects State Farm to pay wildfire survivors fairly: "nothing is off the table.”

A full and final rate hearing will happen sometime this fall.

State Farm can hike California home insurance rates, judge rules State Farm can raise home insurance rates in California by 17% next month, a judge ruled Tuesday, but the state insurance commissioner has the final word.

Breaking: Judge has approved State Farm's emergency rate hike request for 17% for homeowners, 15% for condos + renters, 38% for rental dwellings starting June 1.

The final word goes to Commissioner Lara and is expected later today.
www.sfchronicle.com/california/a...

Insurance commissioner: State Farm investigation ‘not off the table’ following L.A. wildfires Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara said it was possible that officials would probe how State Farm handled claims from the L.A. wildfires.

It's been a month since the hearing into State Farm's emergency rate hike request wrapped up, but Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara says a judge still hasn't made a decision about whether to approve the request:
www.sfchronicle.com/california-w...

A critical U.S. database that tracks extreme weather damage no longer exists.

"In alignment with evolving priorities, statutory mandates, and staffing changes, NOAA’s National Centers for Environmental Information will no longer be updating the Billion Dollar Weather and Climate Disasters product."

Now that they've started updating their data quarterly, the FAIR Plan is ironically (given their reluctance to release anything in the past) the only good data reflecting the unavailability of insurance that doesn't suffer from a 1-2 year lag!

That's just the 96161 ZIP code, but the FAIR Plan also breaks out data by county -- for Nevada Co., it reports 19,795 residential/commercial/business policies and $21B in total exposure, but CDI doesn't have a commercial policy dataset to tell the overall % of the county the FAIR Plan insures :/

Looks like they stopped mapping it, but as of March 2025 the 96161 ZIP code over Truckee is up to $7.7B in FAIR Plan exposure over 5,332 homes. Based on CDI's policy data from 2023, that's about 63% of all insured homes in the ZIP 😬
www.cfpnet.com/key-statisti...

Two reporters hug after learning they are finalists for the Pulitzer

The finalists for the 2025 Pulitzer Prize in National Reporting

Deeply grateful for the recognition from the @pulitzerprizes.bsky.social for @jennifergollan.bsky.social's and my investigation into deadly, reckless police pursuits. And especially grateful to the families who shared their stories w/ us.

ANd even those with replacement cost ...
www.sfchronicle.com/projects/202...

California salmon fishing will be closed for the third year in a row For the first time in history, California salmon fishing will be closed for the third year in a row to protect a plunging population of fish

Commercial salmon fishing in California will be banned for the third year in a row, a closure unprecedented in state history.

The rationale is that the forecast for the number of chinook salmon in the Pacific Ocean is even worse than it was this time last year.

From @taraduggan.bsky.social