Six days before the Oct. 21 Witch Creek fire in Ramona became the first of several major blazes that would sweep over Southern California, two state agencies signed what amounted to a wildfire war pact.

While it would not have any effect on the most recent blazes, the agreement between the California Department of Insurance and the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection underscored fears of more frequent and more destructive blazes.

"More than 5 million homes are located in California's wildland-urban interface," the agreement reads. "As more homes are built within these areas, the danger to life and property will continue to increase unless significant action takes place to prevent these fires."

Signed by state Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner and CalFire Director Ruben Grijalva on Oct. 15, the agreement called on the two agencies to collaborate on prevention measures, create a statewide emergency services database, do detailed mapping of areas considered at high-risk for wildfires and require an education program for insurers.

The pact also called for a review of homeowner's insurance programs for properties in high-risk areas and better coordination of damage assessment information.

State Sen. Christine Kehoe, D-San Diego, said last week that she hopes similar initiatives are introduced after this year's blazes.

"There will be a big push on a number of fronts to make communities more fire safe and protect people from huge losses," said Kehoe, who was a member of a gubernatorial commission after the 2003 fires that recommended a series of improvements in firefighting capabilities and insurance laws.

"One thing I want the state to look at in great detail is how we can make our community general plans more fire safe and how we can build in a more fire-safe fashion," Kehoe said.

Changes after 2003

Among the changes in state law after the 2003 fires were regulations giving people more time to rebuild insured homes and allowing them to build at a different site.

Other insurance-related regulations stemmed from the fires, including the following:

• Living expenses under an insurance policy must be available for a period of at least 24 months.

• The amount of recovery for loss of a home or structure under a cash value policy is the policy limit or fair market value, whichever is less.

• Insurers cannot cancel, fail to renew or increase a premium amount because a policyholder has asked questions about fire or property insurance policy limits or coverage.

• Insurance companies must inform policyholders in writing of any change in the annual premium for residential property insurance.

• The amount of recovery for a replacement cost policy must be based on what it would cost the homeowner to repair, rebuild or replace the home without a deduction for physical depreciation.

• Insurers must allow the renewal of policies for homes that are not yet rebuilt at the time of renewal.

• Insurers cannot cite the fact that a primary home is damaged as a basis for canceling insurance while the primary home is being rebuilt.

• Insurers must renew a policy at least once if a total loss to the primary home was caused by a disaster.

In a written statement, Poizner said his department will monitor the recovery and rebuilding effort.

"I expect all insurance companies to comply with these newly enacted laws to protect fire victims," he said.

Kehoe said she expects the Legislature will see additional proposals to further safeguard people who follow brush-clearing requirements and other preventive steps yet still lose their homes in wildfires.

Lawmakers also might take a look at what can be done for those who don't have sufficient coverage to replace their homes, she said.

"When thousands of people lose their homes and a substantial number are underinsured, that becomes a policy issue," she said.

The wildfire pact

Despite spending more than $100 million a year on suppression efforts, CalFire officials say losses from catastrophic wildfires continue to mount and now average more than $200 million a year.

The 2003 fires cost more than $252 million to put out. Throughout the region, the blazes that year destroyed nearly 5,400 homes and outbuildings with property damage pegged at nearly $975 million, according to CalFire.

This year's fires in San Diego County alone burned more than 368,000 acres, destroying at least 1,751 homes and businesses and 1,262 outbuildings, according to a final damage report prepared by county officials. The report puts a $1.15 billion pricetag on the losses.

The blazes claimed 16 lives, nine directly from the fires and seven during or after evacuation and at least 96 firefighters were hurt while battling the flames, according to state forestry and fire protection figures.

The pact between CalFire and Poizner seeks to reduce those kinds of numbers in future years by lessening the risk of large-scale property loss and deaths.

The two agencies will cobble together an outreach program targeting homeowners and businesses in wildland areas to adopt fire-safe strategies such as aggressive brush clearance and use of safer building materials.

Contact staff writer Mark Walker at (760) 740-3529 or mlwalker@nctimes.com.