The Los Angeles Basin continues to assess the extent of the wildfires that devastated the communities of Pacific Palisades and Altadena 10 days ago, but fire-fueling Santa Ana winds are expected to hit the basin again next week. expected to pose new risks.
“We believe the Santa Ana winds will become stronger, increasing the fire danger. Next week's event could be prolonged.” alex tardy saidMeteorologist at the National Weather Service office in San Diego. With little rain, he added, “The bottom line is we're in uncharted territory this winter, in the middle of the rainy season.”
After a mild weekend, fire weather is expected to return on Monday and could continue into Thursday. The region hasn't seen significant rain since early May, with no day of more than 1/10th of an inch of rain for 257 days.
The new fire weather warning comes as authorities believe at least 27 people have died and more than 12,000 homes and structures have been destroyed in the Palisades, Eaton and Altadena fires.
The Palisades Fire, which has burned 23,713 acres, is 43% contained as of Saturday morning. According to Cal Fire. The Eaton Fire, which has scorched 14,117 acres, is 73% contained.
Some mandatory evacuation areas were opened only to residents, and the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department issued a warning. Detailed guidelines Friday to “repopulate” some communities affected by the Palisades fire.
Donald Trump, who will take the oath of office on Monday, said his first official trip as president will be to Southern California to tour disaster areas. His visit comes amid a bitter political debate with Republicans criticizing California's Democratic leaders for their response to the fires.
Republicans in Congress have accepted Trump's false claim that Gavin Newsom, who mismanaged California's reservoirs, was to blame for the fires. Senator Ron Johnson (Wisconsin) told NPR He argued that California leaders made “mismanaged and foolish decisions” regarding wildfire mitigation and should impose conditions on federal disaster aid.
President Trump's visit schedule, First reported by NewsNation, comes as California Fair Plan Associationthe state's property insurance companies, which insure homes when commercial market home insurance is unavailable, may be in jeopardy.
Estimated losses from the fires range from $150 billion to $200 billion, but the Fair Plan Institute estimates announced on Friday It said it had just $377 million in reserves and $5.78 billion worth of reinsurance. In addition to basic coverage for post-fire reconstruction, the insurance company also offers up to $3 million in personal property and expense coverage.
Fair Plan Institute insured 22% of Palisades Fire's buildings, giving it a potential loss exposure of more than $4 billion, and insured 12% of Eaton Fire's buildings, giving it a potential loss exposure of more than $775 million. He said that he caused serious damage.
Former state insurance commissioner Dave Jones: “Los Angeles wildfires are on track to become California's costliest natural disaster in modern times.'' told the LA Times.
“And as the climate crisis worsens, FairPlan faces extraordinary financial challenges in covering risks that private insurers are unwilling to cover because of climate change.”
