ALTADENA, California — As Los Angeles construction worker Ivan De La Torre surveyed a landscape of smoking wreckage in fire-ravaged Altadena, a question nagged at him: how would insurance companies cover the cost of rebuilding an entire neighborhood?

As hundreds of Los Angeles (LA) residents return to find homes reduced to ashes due to a devastating wave of wildfires, many are fearful that their insurance policies may not cover the rebuild cost and that future premiums will be astronomical.

“My concern is that the insurance companies won’t be able to handle all the claims and file for bankruptcy and that’s that. It’s scary,” said Mr. De La Torre, 32, whose uncle and sister both lost their houses in a fire that consumed half of Altadena, a suburb north of Los Angeles of some 40,000 people.

Leo Frank III, a 66-year-old actor who lost his family home in Altadena, said he fears insurers could drag their feet on paying claims and fail to cover the full cost of reconstruction.

“We will rebuild. No one is taking our house,” said Mr. Frank, as he hunted for a shower seat for his 96-year-old mother in a parking lot full of donated supplies in Pasadena.

“But it will be a mess.”

Mr. Frank said he knows some neighbors who lost their homeowners coverage prior to the fires as insurers retreated from parched regions in California increasingly prone to wildfires.

“We were lucky we still had a policy,” he said.

The wildfires, among the worst natural disasters ever to hit California, have killed at least 11 people and destroyed or badly damaged more than 10,000 structures.

Reuters contacted nine of the top home insurance companies in California for comment.

State Farm, Nationwide, Allstate, Mercury, Liberty Mutual and Farmers responded with statements saying they were working with policyholders to help them make claims, without addressing specific concerns about residents not receiving sufficient payouts or rising future premiums.

Following the fires this week, California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara invoked moratorium powers to suspend all policy non-renewals and cancellations from insurance companies for one year.

Mr. Lara said in a statement on Friday that next week he will host free insurance workshops in Santa Monica and Pasadena, suburbs close to the two biggest fires.

US insurance stocks slid on Friday as analysts estimated the insurance costs from the wildfire could top $20 billion. Private forecaster AccuWeather estimated the damage and economic loss from the fires at $135 billion to $150 billion, portending soaring homeowners’ insurance costs.

STATE INSURANCE
Though Altadena has never experienced fire devastation on this scale in the past, the suburb does sit at the base of the San Gabriel Mountains, which are prone to wildfires. This has made getting fire insurance more difficult.

Many residents in Altadena, a racially and economically diverse suburb, are covered by the California FAIR Plan, an insurance program backed by the state of California that is used by property owners who cannot find private market coverage.

FAIR Plan did not respond to a request for comment.

As private insurers have rejected or dropped homeowners in fire-prone areas of California, residents have increasingly switched to FAIR Plan, data shows.

As of the end of September last year, 958 homes in Altadena were covered by the scheme, up 28% from a year earlier, according to data from the insurer.

In Pacific Palisades, a wealthy suburb west of downtown Los Angeles ravaged by wildfires this week, the rise in the use of the FAIR plan has been more stark. There are 1,430 homes covered under the scheme, up 85% from a year earlier and quadruple the number in 2020, the insurer’s data showed.

Gabby Reyes, whose home in Altadena was destroyed in a fire on Wednesday morning, said FAIR Plan staff had been helpful but she was concerned that her policy would not be enough to cover rebuilding the home she shares with her mother and daughter, given the fire has only left behind the foundations.

“They have been talking to us, and they’ve been really good,” Ms. Reyes told Reuters, adding that property speculators had cold-called her to ask if they could buy her land.

“You can’t call people like that when they’re devastated.” — Reuters

LOS ANGELES — Aircraft dropped water and fire retardant on steep hills to stem the eastward spread of the Palisades wildfire in Los Angeles on Saturday as on-the-ground firefighting intensified amid warnings of wind gusts of up to 70 mph (110 kph) that could make matters worse.

Over the past 24 hours, the Palisades Fire spread over an additional 1,000 acres (400 hectares), consuming more homes, officials reported.

Six simultaneous blazes that have ripped across Los Angeles County neighborhoods since Tuesday have killed at least 16 people as of late Saturday, the Washington Post and other media reported, citing the Los Angeles County medical examiner’s office. Reuters could not immediately reach the coroner.

The blazes have damaged or destroyed 12,000 structures, fire officials said. At least 13 people are estimated to be missing.

The death toll is expected to mount when firefighters are able to conduct house-to-house searches.

Cal Fire official Todd Hopkins told a press conference that while 11% of the Palisades Fire was now contained, it has burned over 22,000 acres.

Mr. Hopkins said the Palisades Fire had spread into the Mandeville Canyon neighborhood and threatened to jump into Brentwood, an upscale neighborhood where celebrities live and play, and the San Fernando Valley. It also inched towards the north-south 405 freeway.

The National Weather Service warned of worsening Santa Ana winds that it predicted would pick up Saturday night into Sunday morning in Los Angeles and Ventura counties, and again on late Monday through Tuesday morning, bringing sustained winds up to 30 mph and wind gusts up to 70 mph.

“We’re in a continued period of critical fire weather through Wednesday,” said NWS meteorologist Rose Schoenfeld. Conditions were expected to moderate by Thursday.

Evacuation orders throughout the Los Angeles area now cover 153,000 residents, putting 57,000 structures at risk. Another 166,000 residents have been warned that they may have to evacuate, said Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna.

But significant progress was reported in bringing electrical power back to Los Angeles neighborhoods. Southern California Edison CEO Steven Powell told reporters there are now about 50,000 customers without power, “down from over half a million just a couple days ago.”

µr. Powell said there was no evidence that any of Edison’s equipment caused the Hurst fire but that the investigation was continuing.

As state and local officials grappled with the worst cluster of fires in Los Angeles history, President Joseph R. Biden spoke by phone with some of them to get an update on their efforts. He was also briefed by senior aides on federal resources that were being dispatched.

Mr. Biden’s major disaster declaration unlocked federal assistance for those affected by the wildfires, clearing the way for FEMA to provide support. Federal Emergency Management Agency officials were at the Pasadena Convention Center helping residents navigate FEMA aid applications.

Support can range from funding for home repairs to money to replace lost food or medication, said FEMA spokesperson Michael Hart, adding that assistance can be provided within days.

Los Angeles Board of Supervisors Chair Kathryn Barger told reporters she had invited President-elect Donald Trump to visit the county to get a first-hand look at the destruction.

Luna said the sheriff’s office has dispatched 40 search and rescue team workers to work jointly with other agencies, including the use of cadaver dogs to search for remains of victims and help reunite separated families.

“LA County had another night of unimaginable terror and heartbreak,” said Los Angeles County Supervisor Lindsey Horvath.

The fierce Santa Ana winds that fanned the infernos eased on Friday night. But the Palisades Fire on the city’s western edge was heading in a new direction as winds came off the Pacific Ocean.

The fire has razed whole neighborhoods, leaving the smoldering ruins of what had been people’s homes and possessions.

Before the latest flare-up, firefighters had reported progress in subduing the Palisades Fire and the Eaton Fire in the foothills east of the metropolis after it burned out of control for days. 

In Altadena, official Don Fregulia said managing the Eaton Fire and its impact will be a “huge, herculean task” that he said will take “many weeks of work.”

The two big fires combined have consumed over 36,000 acres (14,500 hectares), or 56 square miles (145 square km) — 2-1/2 times the land area of Manhattan.

Seven neighboring states, the federal government and Canada and Mexico have rushed aid and firefighters to California, bolstering aerial teams dropping water and fire retardant on the flaming hills and crews on the ground attacking fire lines with hand tools and hoses.

Officials have declared a public health emergency due to the thick, toxic smoke.

HOMES REDUCED TO ASH
Pacific Palisades residents who ventured back to their devastated neighborhoods on Friday were shocked to find brick chimneys looming over charred waste and burnt-out vehicles as acrid smoke lingered in the air.

“This was a house that was loved,” Kelly Foster, 44, said while combing through the rubble where her house once stood.

Ms.Foster’s 16-year-old daughter, Ada, said she tried to get inside but “I just became sick. I just couldn’t even… Yeah, it’s hard.”

In Rick McGeagh’s Palisades newwighborhood, only six of 60 homes survived, and all that remained standing at his ranch house was a statue of the Virgin Mary.

“Everything else is ash and rubble,” said Mr. McGeagh, 61, a commercial real estate broker who, along with his wife, raised three children at their home.

On Friday morning, hundreds of people streamed into a parking lot near the Rose Bowl stadium in Pasadena for donated clothing, diapers and bottled water.

Denise Doss, 63, said she was anxious to return to her destroyed home in Altadena to see if anything was salvageable, but officials stopped her due to safety concerns.

“At least to say goodbye until we can rebuild. I will let God lead me,” Ms. Doss said. — Reuters

WASHINGTON — US President Joseph R. Biden spoke with Pope Francis on Saturday and awarded him the Presidential Medal of Freedom with Distinction, the nation’s highest civilian honor, the White House said.

It was the first time during his four years in office that Mr.Biden awarded the medal “with distinction,” it said.

Mr. Biden, 82, leaves office on Jan. 20. To oversee the federal response to the fires in California, he canceled a trip to Rome this week, where he was due to meet Francis in person.

A lifelong Catholic who has met the pope several times, Mr. Biden told reporters on Friday that he was disappointed to cancel the trip, but felt it was more important to stay in Washington.

The Presidential Medal of Freedom is presented individuals who have made exemplary contributions to the prosperity, values, or security of the US, world peace, or other significant societal, public or private endeavors.

One week ago, Mr. Biden awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom to former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, chef Jose Andres and conservationist Jane Goodall, among others.

The White House said Mr. Biden spoke by phone with Francis on Saturday and expressed his deep regret that he was unable to visit Rome and Vatican City. The two leaders discussed efforts to advance peace around the world, including Francis’ work to alleviate suffering for vulnerable communities, it said. 

In his citation for Pope Francis, who was born as Jorge Bergoglio in Argentina, Mr. Biden lauded the religious leader’s life of service to “the voiceless and vulnerable across Argentina” and his lifetime of service to the poor.

“A loving pastor, he joyfully answers children’s questions about God. A challenging teacher, he commands us to fight for peace and protect the planet,” Mr. Biden wrote.

“The first pope from the Southern Hemisphere, Pope Francis is unlike any who came before. Above all, he is the People’s Pope — a light of faith, hope, and love that shines brightly across the world.”

Both BMr. iden and Pope Francis have been weakened by global events, said Massimo Faggioli, an Italian academic and professor at Villanova University who follows the papacy.

“That is really hard to underestimate how tragic this moment is for both men in different ways,” he said. “Because what could go wrong did go wrong in these few years.”

Pope Francis has pushed for an end to Russia’s war with Ukraine and has been critical of Israel’s military campaign against Palestinian militant group Hamas. Both conflicts are ongoing.

Mr. Biden, 82, a regular attender of Mass, departed from church doctrine later in life with his support for abortion rights. In 2021 he said Francis had defended him from criticism by some US Catholics over the issue, including many bishops.

Pope Francis, 88, has pushed to open the Church to the modern world since he took the helm in 2013. He has drawn criticism from some US Catholics who view him as too liberal. — Reuters