With aerial firefighting returning as strong Southern California winds died down for a bit, damage assessments from a handful of destructive Los Angeles area blazes are sure to become clearer—likely pushing up billion-dollar-plus insured loss estimates put forth from fires that are only three days old.
What isn’t clear is the air, which is thick with choking smoke in areas throughout Southern California. Also unclear is just how many homes have been lost and the magnitude of insured losses. Insured loss estimates currently range from $8 to $20 billion.
Reports on the number of structures