Unlock Editor’s Roundup for free
Roula Khalaf, editor of the FT, picks her favorite stories in this weekly newsletter.
Los Angeles was braced for near “hurricane-force” winds Monday that forecasters said could fuel the devastating wildfires that have swept through southern California as damage estimates mount.
As firefighters struggled to contain the deadly flames that continued to rage on the outskirts of the second-largest US city, the National Weather Service issued a “red alert” warning amid worsening conditions.
Winds of up to 75 miles per hour are expected to lash the region Monday night into Wednesday morning, according to the NWS, combining with extremely dry conditions to create “critical fire weather.”
“The National Weather Service is forecasting near hurricane force winds, and so we are 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.”
Authorities have been battling the blaze since last Tuesday, which has burned more than 40,000 hectares of land. California Gov. Gavin Newsom warned that the wildfires could become the costliest disaster in US history as he clashed with President-elect Donald Trump over the state’s response.
The cause of the fires has not yet been determined, but several lawsuits were filed against utility Southern California Edison on Monday alleging it failed to properly shut down power lines despite warnings, leading to the Eaton fire.
Shares of parent company Edison International fell 11.9 percent on Monday. The company did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Insurance stocks also took a hit as projected claims rose. JPMorgan analysts have estimated industrywide losses of about $20 billion, which would be the largest in the state’s history.
The largest of the outbreaks, the Pacific Palisades fire, was only 14 percent contained late Monday, prompting fears that strong eruptions in the coming days would reverse progress in fighting the blaze.
The weather service warned that “extreme fire danger” would continue into Wednesday and said the country’s alert category – a “red flag warning of particularly hazardous situation” – was reserved for “extreme weather scenarios of extreme fire”.
“In other words, this system is as bad as it gets,” the NWS warned as it warned that strong winds could create “explosive fire growth.”
The death toll rose to 24 on Monday, officials said, and was expected to rise as authorities searched the wreckage for missing people.
The disaster has spilled over into the political arena, with Trump on Sunday attacking state authorities for failing to stop the destruction. “The fires are still burning in LA. The incompetent Poles have no idea how to put them out,” he posted on his Truth social network.
The Republican president-elect has accused California’s governor, a Democrat, of depleting water supplies to protect an endangered fish species and refusing to sign a “water restoration declaration.” Newsom’s office said no such statement exists.
“This misinformation and disinformation I don’t think is advantageous or helpful to any of us,” Newsom told NBC. Meet the press on Sunday, noting that he had invited the president-elect to visit the affected areas but had yet to receive a response. “Responding to Donald Trump’s insults, we would spend another month.”
Meanwhile, city officials warned against price gouging that has driven up prices for rental properties after thousands of people were forced from 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
