Carolyn Cohn and Noor Zainab Hussain

(Reuters) – Catastrophe modeling firm Karen Clark & Company (KCC) said on Wednesday it expects insured losses of about $1 billion from the rare winter wildfire that roared through two towns in Boulder County, Colorado, and destroyed a 1,000 homes.

Colorado’s wildfire season doesn’t usually last into winter because of snow cover. But the Marshall Fire is part a larger trend in Western U.S. that has longer fire seasons, and less kindling, as global temperatures rise, KCC reported.

“The Marshall Fire became the most destructive fire in Colorado’s history partially due to its location in the wildland-urban interface — the region where unmanaged (or natural) vegetation meets urban expansion,” Jeff Amthor, assistant vice president of research at risk modelling firm AIR, said.

According to AIR, there are 1,725 homes in the Marshall Burn area. The total property value is $825 million.

KCC reported that the Marshall fire had burned approximately 6,000 acres and nearly 1000 structures were destroyed. It is Colorado’s most destructive fire and follows the Pine Gulch Fire of 2020.

The Colorado State Forest Service published data in 2018 that showed nearly half the state’s inhabitants live in places at high risk of wildfires. That is almost half the increase in population in just five years.

Climate change is responsible for more of the so-called secondary peril weather events. These are usually smaller than hurricanes and less predictable. Another secondary danger is the possibility of small to medium-sized localized events, such as hailstorms, winter storms, and wildfires.

David Flandro (head of analytics, broker Howden) stated that “We see this [Marshall Fire] as part of an overall trend of more acute, secondary perils.”

Insurance experts say these types of events can cause insurance companies to face risk management issues and inflate premiums.