State Farm insurance says it鈥檚 already processing more than 60 claims from people who have lost their homes or seen extensive damage from the High Park Fire.
The blaze has consumed 189 homes and an unknown number of other structures, but the full extent of insurance claims may not be known for some time.
That鈥檚 for two reasons.
- Hundreds of people are still evacuated
- Many of the burned areas still aren鈥檛 safe for residents, let alone the insurance adjusters to travel into.
Carole Walker, executive director of the says it could be weeks, if not months, before the full extent of the damages is known.
"This High Park Fire is eerily reminiscent of the Hayman Fire which was ten years ago this month. We鈥檙e just going to have wait and see, it鈥檚 the most destructive in terms of number of structures that have burned, but we鈥檙e not sure yet what that鈥檚 going to add up when it comes to how much insurance claims are paid out."
At least for now, 2010鈥檚 Four Mile Canyon Fire above Boulder that destroyed 169 homes is still the state鈥檚 most expensive blaze when it comes to insured losses. That was due to the number of permanent residences and the number of high dollar properties.
But Walker says major blazes like these are a wake-up call for any homeowner in a fire-prone area to make sure their .
Editor's note: The RMIIA has a list of companies and contact information for claim lines for High Park Fire victims at .
