“The Bastrop fire was only one of hundreds of wildfires that have occurred during 2011,” said Mark Hanna, a spokesman for the Insurance Council of Texas. “With our severe drought and record setting heat and still three months left in the year, we can only hope Mother Nature comes to our rescue sooner rather than later.”
The Texas Forest Service says Texas remains very susceptible to wildfires because of increasing winds across the state. Since November 2010, almost four million acres have burned and 2,700 homes destroyed.
The Insurance Council of Texas is the largest state insurance trade association in the country consisting of approximately 500 property and casualty insurers writing business in Texas.