California - Saba:
The fires continue to spread to additional areas in the city of Los Angeles in the US state of California on the Pacific Ocean, western United States, for the seventh consecutive day.
According to the American "Associated Press" agency, the number of deaths resulting from the fires reached 24 deaths, until Monday morning, in addition to the evacuation of about 300,000 others, whose facilities were burned or damaged by fire.
The Los Angeles wildfires began in late 2024 and quickly spread across large swaths of the city and surrounding areas. Driven by dry conditions, high temperatures, and strong winds that exceeded 93 mph (150 km/h), the fires burned thousands of acres in just a few days.
Entire neighborhoods were reduced to ashes, vital infrastructure was destroyed, and by January 12, 2025, more than 300,000 residents were reported to have been displaced, with 24 confirmed deaths.
While emergency responders worked tirelessly to contain the fires, the scale of the disaster overwhelmed available resources, despite the intervention of firefighting crews from neighboring states.
The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (Cal Fire) described the fires as a “perfect storm” of adverse weather conditions and highly flammable vegetation.
Throughout Los Angeles, schools were forced to close due to heavy smoke and hazardous air quality, and the Los Angeles Unified School District, the nation’s second-largest, closed all schools while officials assessed the damage.
The California Department of Education reported that 335 schools in five counties, including Los Angeles, San Bernardino and San Diego, were closed, with a timeline for reopening still uncertain.
Scientists and environmentalists have pointed to climate change as a major factor contributing to the severity and frequency of California’s wildfires, according to a report by the Wall Street Journal .
Rising global temperatures have prolonged droughts and dried out vegetation, creating ideal conditions for fires to spread quickly.
Insurers were already aware that conditions in California were threatening insurable assets, the Journal and Bloomberg reported.
Bloomberg reported two years ago that seven of the 12 largest U.S. insurers had restricted California insurers from insuring their assets because of the increased risk.
As a result, California established FAIR Insurance, which includes a group of insurance companies operating, with a portfolio of insured assets in the state amounting to about $458 billion.
While the company only has $700 million in cash, making compensation difficult without government intervention.
Experts told the Washington Post on Saturday that the cost of direct and indirect losses from the fires is $150 billion.
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