Los Angeles in flames

DUKIECB

Member
This is just horrific

The photos and videos coming out of L.A. are horrifyingly stunning. The entire Palisades area has been incinerated and is simply no more. What struck me is how fast this happened with officials saying the first fire started around mid day Tuesday. So in barely two days time all this destruction has taken place and unfortunately it looks like we are just in the infant stages of this with almost zero containment. Lots of times we see these stories and the fires are way up in canyons where the population density isn't very high but these fires are burning the suburbs around L.A. where there are thousands and thousands of homes and businesses.

Prayers and good thoughts to all those affected and to those working to contain the flames.
 
The wind has dropped significantly today. It's still horrible, but they should be able to start turning the tide.

It looks like the Sunset fire above Hollywood got mostly knocked down.

You can see where the activity is by this satellite driven map:
I click on the settings icon and turn off the air sensors so I can just see the fire hot spots.

You can also see where the air drops are happening by looking at the flightradar24 site or app:
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We have a number of friends who have lost their homes in the Palisades fire. Lost it all. The entire village has been flattened, with the exception of Rick Caruso's central outdoor shopping area. The video that I've seen is truly terrible -- not just homes gone, but entire streets, and indeed entire neighborhoods just not there anymore.

LeBron's street which is up in hills of Brentwood has not been affected. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for his coach, who lost his home in the Palisades.
 
We have a number of friends who have lost their homes in the Palisades fire. Lost it all. The entire village has been flattened, with the exception of Rick Caruso's central outdoor shopping area. The video that I've seen is truly terrible -- not just homes gone, but entire streets, and indeed entire neighborhoods just not there anymore.

LeBron's street which is up in hills of Brentwood has not been affected. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for his coach, who lost his home in the Palisades.
A lot of suffering and it's going to get worse for them before it gets better. We had a big fire near us in 2020 where a lot of friends lost their places and I have been seeing them struggle through it. Less than half of the lost homes have been rebuilt more than 4 years later.
 
Apparently, according to what I read, a lot of insurance companies had already dropped P and C coverage for many people in Pacific Palisades and other areas of LA that the companies thought were susceptible to fires. I just cannot imagine, going forward, what insurance companies will now insure anyone who tries to re-build in those areas. This may be a MAJOR problem for a lot of people.
 
Apparently, according to what I read, a lot of insurance companies had already dropped P and C coverage for many people in Pacific Palisades and other areas of LA that the companies thought were susceptible to fires. I just cannot imagine, going forward, what insurance companies will now insure anyone who tries to re-build in those areas. This may be a MAJOR problem for a lot of people.
I think that area will be a good insurance risk area because the brush and under brush have now burned out. The fuel for the firestorm that just took place is gone until there has been another 30+ years of neglect.
 
Apparently, according to what I read, a lot of insurance companies had already dropped P and C coverage for many people in Pacific Palisades and other areas of LA that the companies thought were susceptible to fires. I just cannot imagine, going forward, what insurance companies will now insure anyone who tries to re-build in those areas. This may be a MAJOR problem for a lot of people.
What has happened in some of the higher-risk fire areas is that the companies have started to "ladder" the policies, which to my understanding basically means there are many companies all involved to varying degrees in insuring a particular property. They are essentially sharing/spreading the risk with each other so nobody is taking on the whole risk of a house or a community burning down. Who knows if even that will be available going forward?
 
What has happened in some of the higher-risk fire areas is that the companies have started to "ladder" the policies, which to my understanding basically means there are many companies all involved to varying degrees in insuring a particular property. They are essentially sharing/spreading the risk with each other so nobody is taking on the whole risk of a house or a community burning down. Who knows if even that will be available going forward?
I think that area will be a good insurance risk area because the brush and under brush have now burned out. The fuel for the firestorm that just took place is gone until there has been another 30+ years of neglect.
I hadn't read about companies trying to spread the risk by laddering policies on individual homes and properties. I wonder if they spread the risk equally among all the companies participating. Obviously, a lot of insurance companies will limit their risk by selling off some of their policy exposure to reinsurance companies but I would assume that reinsurance will become much more expensive too going forward.

You may be right, Indoor, and I hadn't thought about that. Certainly possible that there will be much lower vegetation fire risk for, at least, a little while in those areas that have already burned. But my understanding (and this may be wrong) is that ground vegetation (not trees) grows back quite quickly in burn areas, once you start getting some rain. Then, that new vegetation just becomes tinder if you get a prolonged dry spell. My guess, knowing how insurance companies operate (and I used to work for an insurance company) is that they will be very hesitant to underwrite new policies in places susceptible to fires and, if they do, the policies will be extremely expensive. That old adage "once burned, twice shy" (and no pun intended) may apply here.
 
I unfortunately know a lot more about fire insurance in CA than I would like to know.

The laddering or reinsurance discussed above has not been happening in CA like it does in other places because it has been outlawed by state regulations. The article jk linked is about the change just announced last week to finally allow reinsurance in CA.

Most insurers have been pulling out of CA the last few years because the regulations have artificially kept costs low even as reconstruction costs have risen due to inflation and insurance companies have been hit with major wildfire events. Some companies have done this by keeping current customers but refusing to write new policies. Another tactic, which got me in 2024, is to use satellite photos of your house to claim your roof is too old or you have too many bushes or trees. Then you have to jump through hoops and spend thousands of dollars to prove to them that whatever they complained about has been mitigated. My agent told me that once you get that letter, no matter what you do, you have a 95% chance of getting dropped like I did.

In most cases, you then end up on what is known as the California FAIR plan. This is an insurance of last resort pool that the companies are forced to support, but allows much higher rates to be charged. I was able to avoid going that route, but only after talking to half a dozen agents and getting inspected again. My cost now is 70% higher than it was before, but on the FAIR plan it would have been 110% higher and not covered me as well either. BTW - FAIR is some sort of acronym and people that have it do not think it is fair in any way.

The effect of the new rules being put in place now are yet to be known. It will probably not be what the public, media, or most politicians believe it will be. My guess is that what will end up happening is that we end up with our "regular" insurance policies coming back, but the cost in 2026 will be about double what it was in 2023.
 
I was in LA yesterday, and could smell the smoke from my LAX airport hotel, nowhere close to the fires. Seeing the fires and smoke from the window and at takeoff was surreal....horrible.
 

JJ Redick loses home in fires as NBA postpones Hornets-Lakers​

Sources told ESPN's Shams Charania that Redick's rental home in Pacific Palisades was one of the structures lost in the biggest of multiple fires raging across the Los Angeles metropolitan area this week.

Redick acknowledged the threat to his home Tuesday before the Lakers' game against the Mavericks in Dallas, saying that members of his family were among those forced to evacuate homes in the area.

Warriors coach Steve Kerr, meanwhile, lost his childhood home in Palisades. Kerr said Thursday his 90-year-old mother, Ann, evacuated and is safe.

 
Not a question for the current crisis, but is there a way to build more fire resistant houses? Brick siding, metal roofs, etc?
 
Not a question for the current crisis, but is there a way to build more fire resistant houses? Brick siding, metal roofs, etc?
I believe the answer is "yes" and they are already doing it in California and other states susceptible to fires. Houses can be designed and built with fire retardant materials - brick, stucco, etc. - and roofs can be metal, tile, etc. that would make it more difficult for flying embers or flames to set the house on fire. I believe some people in those fire prone areas also have elaborate and substantial sprinkler systems set up around their house and property (think of sprinklers on a golf course) that can be turned on if a fire is coming close to try to douse the fire before it hits the house (assuming you have adequate water supply and electricity). Of course, it is much more expensive to build such houses but that may be the trend (and maybe even new building codes) going forward. I remember seeing a photo in the past few years of a burn area in a California neighborhood, where, after a substantial fire, every single house was burned to the ground but there was one single house completely intact and it was a house that had been built to withstand fires.
 
Infrastructure is an issue but it's not clear what options they had in designing the water system. But in some of these neighborhoods water pressure is maintained by the gravitational force of million gallon water tanks that you can see dotting the skyline as opposed to pump-supplied pressure of other municipal water systems. When those tanks get empty, you're SOL and in the hillier communities the problem is exacerbated. Here's a good article on the problem. Joe Rogan, Ron DeSantis and Elon Musk being the typical opportunistic jerks that they are used the opportunity to blame Newsom but the problem is far more complex and stretches over years of poor civic planning. One may draw parallels to the electric grid issues in Texas in that public utilities often depend upon cooperation across municipalities and even state lines.

 
Infrastructure is an issue but it's not clear what options they had in designing the water system. But in some of these neighborhoods water pressure is maintained by the gravitational force of million gallon water tanks that you can see dotting the skyline as opposed to pump-supplied pressure of other municipal water systems. When those tanks get empty, you're SOL and in the hillier communities the problem is exacerbated. Here's a good article on the problem. Joe Rogan, Ron DeSantis and Elon Musk being the typical opportunistic jerks that they are used the opportunity to blame Newsom but the problem is far more complex and stretches over years of poor civic planning. One may draw parallels to the electric grid issues in Texas in that public utilities often depend upon cooperation across municipalities and even state lines.

Those water systems were never designed to fight an events at this scale. They were designed for a few houses or a large building or a city block not these types of situations. They aren’t ment to deal with the volume of water and replenish it quickly.
I believe the answer is "yes" and they are already doing it in California and other states susceptible to fires. Houses can be designed and built with fire retardant materials - brick, stucco, etc. - and roofs can be metal, tile, etc. that would make it more difficult for flying embers or flames to set the house on fire. I believe some people in those fire prone areas also have elaborate and substantial sprinkler systems set up around their house and property (think of sprinklers on a golf course) that can be turned on if a fire is coming close to try to douse the fire before it hits the house (assuming you have adequate water supply and electricity). Of course, it is much more expensive to build such houses but that may be the trend (and maybe even new building codes) going forward. I remember seeing a photo in the past few years of a burn area in a California neighborhood, where, after a substantial fire, every single house was burned to the ground but there was one single house completely intact and it was a house that had been built to withstand fires.

 

JJ Redick loses home in fires as NBA postpones Hornets-Lakers​

Sources told ESPN's Shams Charania that Redick's rental home in Pacific Palisades was one of the structures lost in the biggest of multiple fires raging across the Los Angeles metropolitan area this week.

Redick acknowledged the threat to his home Tuesday before the Lakers' game against the Mavericks in Dallas, saying that members of his family were among those forced to evacuate homes in the area.

Warriors coach Steve Kerr, meanwhile, lost his childhood home in Palisades. Kerr said Thursday his 90-year-old mother, Ann, evacuated and is safe.

As you highlighted, the positive (not so for the owner) is that JJ is renting. Duke smarts in play? Or just acknowledging the average tenure of an NBA coach?
 
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