Unlock Editor’s Digest for free
Roula Khalaf, editor of the FT, picks her favorite stories in this weekly newsletter.
Los Angeles was braced Monday for near-“hurricane-force” winds that forecasters said could fan the devastating wildfires that have ripped through Southern California as damage estimates mount.
As firefighters struggled to contain it deadly flames that continued to rage in the suburbs of America’s second-largest city, the National Weather Service issued a “red flag” warning for worsening conditions.
Winds of up to 75 mph are expected to hit the region Monday night into Wednesday morning, according to the NWS, combined with extremely dry conditions that will create “critical fire weather.”
“The National Weather Service is predicting near-hurricane-force winds, so we’re making emergency preparations,” LA Mayor Karen Bass said Monday. “My top priority and everyone else’s priority is to do everything we can to protect lives as these winds approach.”
Since last Tuesday, authorities have been fighting fires that have burned more than 40,000 hectares of land. California Governor Gavin Newsom warned that wildfires could become a problem costliest disaster in US history as he clashed with President-elect Donald Trump over the state’s response.
The cause of the fire has not yet been determined, but several lawsuits were filed Monday against utility Southern California Edison, alleging that it failed to properly shut down power lines despite warnings, leading to the Eaton fire.
Shares of its parent company, Edison International, fell 11.9 percent on Monday. The company did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Insurance stocks were also hit as expected claims rose. JPMorgan analysts estimated industry-wide losses of about $20 billion, which would be the largest in the state’s history.
The largest of the outbreaks, Pacific Palisades The fire was only 14 percent contained late Monday, raising fears that strong gusts of wind in the coming days would reverse progress in fighting the blaze.
The Met Office warned that “extreme fire danger” would continue into Wednesday and said the warning category in effect – “red flag warning for a particularly dangerous situation” – was reserved for the “extreme of extreme fire scenarios”.
“In other words, this setup is as bad as it gets,” the NWS warned as it warned that strong winds could cause “explosive fire growth.”
The death toll reached 24 on Monday, officials said, and is expected to rise as authorities search the wreckage for missing people.
The disaster spilled over into the political arena, with Trump attacking state officials on Sunday for failing to stop the destruction. “Fires are still raging in LA. Incompetent citizens have no idea how to put them out,” he posted on his Truth social network.
The future Republican president accused Californiathe governor, a democrat, for depleting water reserves to protect endangered species of fish and refusing to sign the “water restoration declaration”. Newsom’s office said no such statement exists.
“I don’t think that misinformation and misinformation benefits or helps any of us,” Newsom told NBC Meet the journalists on Sunday, noting that he has invited the president-elect to visit the affected areas but has yet to receive a response. “Responding to Donald Trump’s insults, we would spend another month.”
Meanwhile, city officials have warned of price dealers who have inflated the prices of rental properties as thousands of people flee their homes.
LAist, a local news site, found a Zillow listing for a furnished home in Bel Air going for $29,500 a month — up 86 percent from September.
Cartography by Steven Bernard
