Insurance costs expected to rise

Insurance companies have been hesitant to raise premiums for idiots building in the wildland urban interface and along waterways being swollen by human-caused climate disruptions but not any more.

A wildfire east of the Black Hills of South Dakota burned 291 acres between Hermosa and Fairburn November 22. It occurred on a day when the weather station at Rapid City Regional Airport recorded wind gusts up to 42 mph and a minimum relative humidity of 29 percent.

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And:

There are two ways to encourage, or even force, them to take action before a fire strikes. Zoning laws and insurance companies. Laws can, for example, ban wood shingle roofs, and require vegetation clearances up to 100 feet, as well as other requirements.

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If the legislation passes, it may affect around 205 buildings in Watertown along Lake Kampeska and the Big Sioux River that were designated by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) as being in a repetitive loss area. According to Mayor Sarah Caron, Watertown has had 30 to 40 properties claim repetitive losses. A former assistant city engineer, Caron has studied floodplain management going back to her college days in the 1980s. With her background and experience, Caron was not surprised by news of the proposed legislation.

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