1) Severe weather did record damage in 2024 with more than $8B in insured losses

Courtesy Barrie360.com and Canadian Press

By Canadian Press Staff, January 13, 2025

A new report says the cost of insured damage caused by severe weather last year hit a record high as it totalled more than $8 billion.

According to Catastrophe Indices and Quantification Inc., the cost of insured damage totalled $8.55 billion for 2024, topping the previous record of $6.2 billion from 2016 when wildfires tore through Fort McMurray, Alta.

The Insurance Bureau of Canada says the summer of 2024 stood out as the most destructive season in Canadian history for insured losses.

The season saw $3 billion in damages related to a hailstorm in Calgary that saw hailstones as big as golf balls hammer the city’s airport in August, damaging aircraft and forcing airlines to ground planes for repairs and inspections.

August 2024 also saw the remnants of Hurricane Debby do $2.7 billion in insured damage as half a million residents in Quebec had their power knocked out.

The Jasper wildfire caused $1.1 billion in insured damage.

2) Los Angeles wildfire death toll rises to 24 as firefighters brace for more fierce winds

Courtesy Barrie360.com and The Associated Press

By Christopher Weber and Holly Ramer

After a weekend spent blocking the explosive growth of fires that destroyed thousands of homes and killed at least 24 people in the Los Angeles area, firefighters got a slight break with calmer weather but cast a wary eye on a forecast for yet more wind.

Should that happen, already burned homes and valleys could flare anew, sending embers to unburned territory miles downwind. New fires could add to the complication.

The death toll surged late Sunday with an update from the Los Angeles County medical examiner. At least 16 people were missing, a number authorities said was also likely to rise.

The relative calm Sunday allowed some people to return to previously evacuated areas, however.

The National Weather Service issued red flag warnings for severe fire conditions through Wednesday, with sustained winds of 50 mph (80 kph) and gusts in the mountains reaching 70 mph (113 kph). The most dangerous day will be Tuesday, warned fire behaviour analyst Dennis Burns at a community meeting Sunday night.

“It will kind of ebb and flow over the next couple days,” Burns said. “Tomorrow night, it will really ramp up.”

Spotting — new fires caused by blowing embers — could happen as much as 2 miles (3.2 kilometres) or more downwind of areas that have already burned, Burns said.

Despite their recent losses, stress, and uncertainty, the crowd in a Pasadena City College gym was mostly respectful, in contrast with harsh criticism elsewhere for Los Angeles and California leaders. Applause followed each of the experts, police, firefighters and community leaders who spoke.

Los Angeles County Fire Chief Anthony C. Marrone said 70 additional water trucks arrived to help firefighters fend off flames spread by renewed gusts. “We are prepared for the upcoming wind event,” Marrone said.

Fire retardant dropped by aircraft will act as a barrier along hillsides, officials said.

Fierce Santa Ana winds have been largely blamed for turning the wildfires sparked last week into infernos that levelled entire neighbourhoods around the city where there has been no significant rainfall in more than eight months.

Twelve people were missing within the Eaton Fire zone and four were missing from the Palisades Fire, Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna said. Investigators were reconciling whether some of the missing might be among the dead but so far no children were among those reported missing, he said.

Meanwhile, the death toll rose to 24 over the weekend. Eight deaths were attributed to the Palisades Fire and 16 to the Eaton Fire, according to the Los Angeles County coroner’s office.

The toll could rise still more as cadaver dogs conducted systematic searches in levelled neighbourhoods. Authorities established a centre where people could report the missing.

Officials also were building an online database to allow evacuated residents to see if their homes were damaged or destroyed. In the meantime, LA city Fire Chief Kristin Crowley urged people to stay away from scorched neighbourhoods.

“There are still active fires that are burning within the Palisades area, making it extremely, extremely dangerous for the public,” Crowley said at a Sunday morning briefing. “There’s no power, there’s no water, there’s broken gas lines, and we have unstable structures.”

Officials warned the ash can contain lead, arsenic, asbestos and other harmful materials.

About 150,000 people in Los Angeles County remained under evacuation orders, with more than 700 residents taking refuge in nine shelters, Luna said. Officials said most of the orders in the Palisades area were unlikely to be lifted before the red flag warnings expire Wednesday evening.

“Please rest assured that first thing Thursday we will begin talking about repopulation,” Marrone said.

In all, four fires had consumed more than 62 square miles (160 square kilometres), an area larger than San Francisco. The Palisades Fire was 11% contained and containment on the Eaton Fire reached 27%. Those two blazes alone accounted for 59 square miles (nearly 153 square kilometres).

Crews from California and nine other states are part of the ongoing response that includes nearly 1,400 fire engines, 84 aircraft and more than 14,000 personnel, including newly arrived firefighters from Mexico.

Fighting to save public and private areas

After a fierce battle Saturday, firefighters managed to fight back flames in Mandeville Canyon, home to Arnold Schwarzenegger and other celebrities near Pacific Palisades not far from the coast, where swooping helicopters dumped water as the blaze charged downhill.

The fire ran through chaparral-covered hillsides and also briefly threatened to jump over Interstate 405 and into densely populated areas in the Hollywood Hills and San Fernando Valley.

Arrests for looting

Looting continued to be a concern, with authorities reporting more arrests as the devastation grew. Those arrested included two people who posed as firefighters going into houses, Los Angeles Police Department Capt. Michael Lorenz said.

With California National Guard troops on hand to guard properties, Gov. Gavin Newsom posted on X: “California will NOT allow for looting.”

Historical cost

The fires that began Tuesday just north of downtown LA had burned more than 12,000 structures. No cause for the largest fires was determined.

Early estimates suggest they could be the nation’s costliest ever, as much as $150 billion according to an AccuWeather estimate.

Along with crews from other states and Mexico, hundreds of inmates from California’s prison system were also helping fight the fires. Nearly 950 prison firefighters were removing timber and brush ahead of the fires to slow their spread, according to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.

The practice is controversial as the inmates are paid little for dangerous and difficult work: $10.24 each day, with more for 24-hour shifts, according to the corrections department.

Rebuilding will be a challenge

Newsom issued an executive order Sunday aimed at fast-tracking rebuilding by suspending some environmental regulations and ensuring that property tax assessments were not increased.

“We’ve got to let people know that we have their back,” he said. “We want you to come back, rebuild, and rebuild with higher quality building standards, more modern standards.”

More than 24,000 people had registered for federal assistance made available by a major disaster declaration by President Joe Biden, according to the White House.

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass said Sunday that she had spoken with President-elect Donald Trump’s incoming administration and expected that he would visit the city.

Leadership accused of skimping

Bass faces a critical test of her leadership during the city’s greatest crisis in decades, but allegations of leadership failures, political blame and investigations have begun.

Newsom on Friday ordered state officials to determine why a 117 million-gallon (440 million-litre) reservoir was out of service and some hydrants had run dry.

3) Los Angeles wildfires death toll rises as crews fight heavy winds to save homes and landmarks

Courtesy Barrie360.com and The Associated Press

By Jae Hong, Holly Ramer, and Michael R. Blood, January 12, 2025

The death toll from the wildfires ravaging the Los Angeles area rose to 16 as crews battled to cut off the spreading blazes before potentially strong winds return that could push the flames toward some of the city’s most famous landmarks.

Five of the deaths were attributed to the Palisades Fire and 11 resulted from the Eaton Fire, the Los Angeles County coroner’s office said in a statement Saturday evening.

The previous number of confirmed fatalities before Saturday was 11, but officials said they expected that figure to rise as teams with cadaver dogs conduct systematic grid searches in levelled neighbourhoods. Authorities have established a center where people can report the missing.

There were fears that winds could move the fires toward the J. Paul Getty Museum and the University of California, Los Angeles, while new evacuation warnings left more homeowners on edge.

By Saturday evening, Cal Fire reported the Palisades, Eaton, Kenneth and Hurst fires had consumed about 62 square miles (160 square kilometres), an area larger than San Francisco. The Palisades and Eaton fires accounted for 59 square miles (nearly 153 square kilometres).

In a briefing posted online Saturday evening, Michael Traum of the California Office of Emergency Services said 150,000 people in Los Angeles County were under evacuation orders, with more than 700 people taking refuge in nine shelters.

Crews from California and nine other states are part of the ongoing response that includes 1,354 fire engines, 84 aircraft and more than 14,000 personnel, including newly arrived firefighters from Mexico, he said.

With Cal Fire reporting containment of the Palisades Fire at 11% and the Eaton Fire at 15% on Saturday night, the fight is set to continue.

“Weather conditions are still critical and another round of strong winds is expected starting Monday,” Traum said.

Fighting to save public and private areas

A fierce battle occurred Saturday in Mandeville Canyon, home to Arnold Schwarzenegger and other celebrities not far from the Pacific coast, where swooping helicopters dumped water as the blaze charged downhill. Firefighters on the ground used hoses in an attempt to beat back leaping flames as thick smoke blanketed the chaparral-covered hillside.

CalFire Operations Chief Christian Litz said Saturday that a main focus was the Palisades Fire burning in the canyon area, not far from the UCLA campus.

New evacuations were ordered Friday evening after a flare-up on the eastern side of the Palisades Fire.

The National Weather Service warned that strong Santa Ana winds could soon return. Those winds have been largely blamed for turning the wildfires into infernos that leveled entire neighborhoods around to city where there has been no significant rainfall in more than eight months.

The fire also threatened to jump over Interstate 405 and into densely populated areas in the Hollywood Hills and San Fernando Valley.

Historical cost

The fires that began Tuesday just north of downtown LA have burned more than 12,000 structures.

Firefighters for the first time made progress Friday afternoon on the Eaton Fire north of Pasadena, which has burned more than 7,000 structures, a term that includes homes, apartment buildings, businesses, outbuildings and vehicles. Most evacuation orders for the area were lifted, officials said.

No cause has been determined for the largest fires and early estimates indicate the wildfires could be the nation’s costliest ever. A preliminary estimate by AccuWeather put the damage and economic losses so far between $135 billion and $150 billion.

Overflowing kindness

Volunteers overflowed donation centers and some had to be turned away at locations including the Santa Anita Park horse racing track, where people who lost their homes sifted through stacks of donated shirts, blankets and other household goods.

Altadena resident Jose Luis Godinez said three homes occupied by more than a dozen of his family members were destroyed.

“Everything is gone,” he said, speaking in Spanish. “All my family lived in those three houses and now we have nothing.”

Officials warn against returning

Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna warned residents against venturing back to destroyed homes to sift through rubble for keepsakes.

“We have people driving up and around trying to get in just to look. Stay away,” Luna said, urging people to abide by curfews.

Officials on Saturday warned the ash can contain lead, arsenic, asbestos and other harmful materials.

“If you’re kicking that stuff up, you’re breathing it in,” said Chris Thomas, a spokesman for the unified incident command at the Palisades Fire who warned the material was “toxic.”

Residents will be allowed to return with protective gear after damage teams evaluate their properties, Thomas said.

Leadership accused of skimping

LA Mayor Karen Bass faces a critical test of her leadership during the city’s greatest crisis in decades, but allegations of leadership failures, political blame and investigations have begun.

Gov. Gavin Newsom on Friday ordered state officials to determine why a 117 million-gallon (440 million-litre) reservoir was out of service and some hydrants had run dry.

Los Angeles Fire Chief Kristin Crowley said city leadership failed her department by not providing enough money for firefighting. She also criticized the lack of water.

“When a firefighter comes up to a hydrant, we expect there’s going to be water,” Crowley said.

The level of devastation is jarring even in a state that regularly confronts massive wildfires. Traum of the state Office of Emergency Services said those impacted by the fires can apply online for immediate government assistance.

Ramer reported from Concord, New Hampshire. Associated Press writers Gene Johnson in Seattle, Justin Pritchard in Los Angeles and videographer Manuel Valdes in Arcadia, California, contributed.

4) Firefighters need better weather to fight California’s flames. When will they get relief?

Courtesy Barrie360.com and The Associated Press

By Dana Beltaji, January 15, 2025

Fire danger remains high in parts of Los Angeles that have been ablaze for days, but there is hope that better weather over the weekend will give firefighters battling the flames some much-needed relief.

After calmer weather on Tuesday helped firefighters snuff out fires, a rare warning of a “Particularly Dangerous Situation” was issued for Wednesday in an area near the two fires that killed at least 25 people and destroyed thousands of homes. A red flag warning was issued by the National Weather Service from Central Coast to the border with Mexico from 3 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Forecasts suggest that conditions for firefighting will improve later in the week.

What conditions are best for firefighting?

Just like wind and drought were major factors in why the fires spread so quickly, calmer wind speeds, more humidity, lower temperatures and more wind or rain can all help extinguish fires.

Humidity in the air exchanges moisture with soil, trees and other organic matter. When potential fuels are more moist, then fire danger is reduced because they’re less combustible. Forecasters look out for relative humidity — or how much water vapor the air is holding. Fire warnings are issued when relative humidity is 15% or lower, combined with higher wind speeds.

Calmer or no winds also contribute to better conditions. Strong winds give oxygen to flames and can dry out vegetation, making it more combustible. While fires will continue even with no wind, they don’t spread as easily, making it easier for firefighters to put it out or for firefighting planes to fly overhead.

Rain or snow can also help put out fires, but often not completely, as it can evaporate quickly.

When will LA get relief?

The Wednesday forecast looks set to make things worse before they get better, with low humidity and strong Santa Ana winds fanning the flames. But there may be relief later in the week.

Forecasts predict higher humidity and lower wind speeds by Friday and into the weekend, but there’s little rain forecast. While rain can help, heavier rain could trigger mudslides in affected areas.

When when the fire does finally subside, climate change makes wildfires more frequent and intense, with drought-like conditions in the western United States more likely, creating the conditions for more extreme wildfires in the future.

___ The Associated Press’ climate and environmental coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP’s standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org.

5) As flames linger, talk turns to rebuilding Los Angeles neighbourhoods levelled by wildfires

Courtesy Barrie360.com and The Associated Press

By Michael R. Blood and Jaimie Ding, January 16, 2025

Staggered after one of the most destructive natural disasters in Southern California history, thousands of heartbroken families, burned-out business owners and beleaguered leaders across Los Angeles County are beginning to ponder another monumental task: rebuilding what was lost and charting a path forward.

Alex Rosewood and nearly her entire family in Altadena, northeast of Los Angeles, lost their homes — her father, whom she and her husband were living with, and her aunt, uncle and cousin next door.

Lost were the keepsakes of a lifetime of family relationships: Rosewood’s grandmother’s playing cards and unfinished quilt. Her wedding photos. Heirlooms from her grandfather, who served in the Navy. All things she wished she could have saved in their frantic flight as smoke turned the sky gray and her cousin’s house began to catch fire.

But Altadena remains home.

“We all plan to rebuild, for sure,” she said.

The traumatized region made it through Wednesday without another major fire breaking out, after forecasters had warned of another round of particularly dangerous winds.

Yet even with flames still leaping in two of the largest fires, which have killed 25 and destroyed more than 12,000 structures, government officials talked Wednesday of the epic job that will unspool over years: clearing Altadena, Pacific Palisades and other ravaged communities of toxic ash and debris, then rebuilding homes, restaurants, schools, boutiques, banks and houses of worship — all while finding financing for it all.

Because of the ongoing firefighting battle and the likelihood of dangerous refuse in burned areas, many anxious residents have yet to return to see what, if anything, is left of their homes. The losses range from multimillion-dollar ocean-view mansions to modest homes that once welcomed returning World War II GIs.

While talking of rebuilding can be a comfort for those eager for a return to normalcy, much remains unknown.

What will the new neighbourhoods look like? Will fire-resistant materials and designs be used? Are more and wider roads needed to allow swifter evacuations and easier access for fire engines during future infernos?

In the coveted seaside hills, there always is the impulse to rebuild after fires — it’s happened many times. But there are inevitable questions about whether it’s sensible to keep rebuilding in known high-risk areas, especially in an age of climate change.

“It’s going to be a while before we can get in there and build anything,” said Michael Hricak, an adjunct professor of architecture at the University of Southern California., referring to the dangerous chemicals and rubble left behind.

As for new construction, “it’s not being tougher than Mother Nature. It’s being somewhat respectful of Mother Nature and knowing what the challenges are.”

“Are we just inviting another problem down the road?” Hricak said.

The fires struck at a challenging time, with the city in the midst of a post-pandemic transition that has reordered work life and left many downtown buildings with high vacancy rates.

Meanwhile, planning is underway to host the 2028 Olympics and the region contends with perhaps the nation’s worst homeless crisis — the latter had been Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass’ priority before the fires broke out last week.

The government has not yet released damage estimates, but private firms have expect they will climb into the tens of billions and it could become the costliest fire disaster in U.S. history.

The Northern California community of Paradise, where the state’s deadliest wildfire killed 85 people in 2018, offers a glimpse into how painstaking and difficult recovery and rebuilding can be.

That fire destroyed about 11,000 homes — some 90% of the community’s structures. Four years later, as of last November, just about 3,000 homes and apartments have been rebuilt.

The town, which previously a population of 26,000, has struggled under high construction costs, expensive insurance premiums and the uncertainty over funds to be paid to people who lost homes by Pacific Gas & Electric, which was found liable for sparking the devastating blaze.

In Los Angeles — a city notorious for dense layers of bureaucracy and government red tape — Bass issued an executive order this week intended to clear the way for residents to rebuild quickly.

“As we prepare to make it through the rest of this emergency, we also have to start putting in place what we need to do to rebuild,” the mayor said Wednesday.

The federal government already has approved spending $100 million to remove paints, cleaners, asbestos, batteries and other household waste from the rubble before crews can begin clearing debris. Robert Fenton Jr., a regional administrator for the Federal Emergency Management Agency, called the plan a first step to getting people back in homes.

Elsewhere, the agency is handing out assistance to help people with short-term lodging.

Peter Dolan, who lived in Santa Monica, said he and his best friend both lost their apartments on the same day. They visited the disaster recovery centre together to figure out their next steps.

“This is what I got,” the 55-year-old said, pointing to his outfit: a leather jacket, shorts and sneakers, the clothes he had on the day the flames hit.

Dolan didn’t have renter’s insurance, but he was able to apply for FEMA assistance and thinks he’ll get $750 and possibly his stay at a hotel covered for a few months.

Michele Baron and her daughter were among those who came to a recovery center in West Los Angeles to figure out how to get new birth certificates and social security cards.

Baron lost nearly everything when her Pacific Palisades apartment of 21 years burned to the ground. Her daughter made her way back to the property and salvaged a ring and pottery she made as a child.

Despite the trauma, the plan is to stay put.

“Now that I can go anywhere, I kind of don’t want to,” Baron said.