California wildfires

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$2B Powerball Winner Buys Burned-Out Lots in Hometown

Edwin Castro says he wants to help people in Altadena while making a 'reasonable' profit

(Newser) - Nearly a year after wildfires tore through Altadena, California, Powerball winner Edwin Castro has emerged as one of the biggest buyers of burned-out lots in his hometown, spending $10 million on 15 properties with plans to build single-family homes. Castro, who won a record $2 billion Powerball jackpot in 2022,...

New California Law Eases Homeowner Burden After a Fire

They won't have to submit an exhaustive list of lost items to insurers

(Newser) - A new law in California will make it easier for homeowners who lost everything in a wildfire to get money from their insurance company. Starting next year, insurers in the state will be required to pay out at least 60% of a homeowner's personal-property coverage, up to $350,000,...

Altadena Went Up in Flames Hours Before the Eaton Fire

NPR highlights early issues with electric distribution lines

(Newser) - Months after the deadly Eaton fire swept through Altadena, California, claiming 19 lives and razing over 9,000 properties, questions continue to swirl over the true cause of the destruction. Lawsuits have pinned the fire on high-voltage transmission lines owned by Southern California Edison, which concedes its equipment may...

Alert Failures, Communication Chaos Worsened LA Fires' Toll

County outlines problems in this year's devastating wildfires

(Newser) - An outside review of Los Angeles County's response to January's deadly wildfires found a lack of resources and outdated policies for sending emergency alerts led to delays in warning residents about the need to evacuate as flames began consuming neighborhoods in Altadena and Pacific Palisades, per the AP...

Wildfires Threaten Homes in Oregon, California

Oregon's Picket Fire affecting about 4K homeowners

(Newser) - Thousands of homes in Northern California wine country and central Oregon were under evacuation orders and warnings as firefighting crews battled wildfires in dry, hot weather. Details from the AP :
  • In California, the Pickett Fire, which had charred about 10 square miles of Napa County, was just 11% contained by
...

Fire Forces Thousands of Evacuations Near LA

Crews make progress, but hot, dry conditions still push Canyon Fire

(Newser) - A California wildfire that has forced the evacuation of thousands of residents in northern Los Angeles County and eastern Ventura County kept growing on Friday, as crews battled flames and extreme heat. The Canyon fire had expanded to 5,400 acres, the Los Angeles Times reports, helped by the hot...

Massive Wildfire Burns 129 Square Miles in California

Gifford Fire was 7% contained on Tuesday

(Newser) - More than 800 structures are threatened by a massive wildfire in central California that left at least three people injured as it burned through Los Padres National Forest. The Gifford Fire has scorched more than 129 square miles of coastal Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties, with 7% containment,...

Report: LA Wildfire Damages Top $50B
It's Another Year
of Costly Disasters
Jul 29, 2025 10:25 AM CDT

It's Another Year of Costly Disasters

Global disaster losses in the first half of 2025 total more than $131B: Munich Re

(Newser) - A surge of wildfires and powerful storms has already driven global natural-disaster losses to more than $131 billion in just the first half of 2025. While that figure is down from the $155 billion tallied over the same period last year, it remains well above the long-term averages, reflecting...

Teen Suspected of Starting Wildfire With Fireworks

13-year-old could face charges including felony reckless burning of forest land

(Newser) - A 13-year-old boy was arrested on suspicion of setting off fireworks that sparked a wildfire this week in coastal Southern California, forcing the evacuations of about a hundred canyon homes, authorities said. Crews with air support protected residences from the Rancho Fire as flames raced through dry brush Monday afternoon...

Military Chief Wants National Guard Fighting Fires, Not in LA

US Northern Command leader asks Hegseth to return 200 troops after migrant protests

(Newser) - The top military commander in charge of troops deployed to Los Angeles to respond to protests against immigration raids has asked Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth if 200 of those forces could be returned to wildfire fighting duty, two US officials told the AP on Monday. President Trump ordered the deployment...

The Goats of Sacramento Are Back
The Goats of
Sacramento
Are Back
May 28, 2025 6:15 PM CDT

The Goats of Sacramento Are Back

Calif. county to spend $400K to let herds graze on dry vegetation that could serve as wildfire fuel

(Newser) - Goats are back on the job in Sacramento, California, called in once again to help head off potential wildfires as the region's temperatures rise. Under a program led by Sacramento County Regional Parks, thousands of goats and sheep are grazing their way through open areas to eat down...

Man Killed His Date, Started a Wildfire to Cover It

California's Victor Serriteno faces 73 years for woman's killing, deaths of 2 others in 2020 blaze

(Newser) - A California man who killed his date, then tried to conceal her body by setting a fire that would eventually kill another two people, now faces more than 70 years in state prison. Victor Serriteno, 33, of Vacaville pleaded no contest to three counts of murder and two courts of...

California to State Farm: Go Ahead and Increase Insurance Rates by 17%

Company is granted emergency rate increase for homeowners' insurance

(Newser) - California has approved the emergency rate hike State Farm requested for homeowners' insurance policies in the wake of this year's devastating Los Angeles wildfires. The company will be temporarily allowed to increase rates in the state by 17%, a move that comes on the heels of State Farm having...

Actor Osment: I'm 'Horrified' by My Behavior

He apologizes for slur after being hit with drug and disorderly conduct charges

(Newser) - The headlines just got a little worse for actor Haley Joel Osment. After his arrest earlier this month for alleged public intoxication at a California ski resort, the 37-year-old has been charged with possession of cocaine and disorderly conduct, reports People . But maybe more troubling: Police bodycam footage shows Osment...

In Altadena, a Race to Save Historic Tile From the Ruins

Fireplaces left standing often have tiles made by renowned craftsman Ernest Batchelder

(Newser) - Wildfires devastated the city of Altadena, California, and now an unusual—and painstaking—volunteer effort is underway to salvage a big part of Altadena's history: its craftsman tiles. A story at Dwell.com explains that when the city began growing in earnest in the early 1900s, new homeowners turned...

Burned Lots Selling Fast in California

They're being scooped up fast by developers in cash-only deals

(Newser) - This year's wildfires in Los Angeles County destroyed an estimated 12,000 homes, reports the New York Times . What now? One safe bet based on robust sales of vacant lots is that 12,000 new homes will go right back up, though many with different owners. Both the Los ...

Sad Ending for Firefighter Who Vanished After Boss Died

Remains of Carlos Baltazar found in San Bernardino County, 4 years after he disappeared

(Newser) - For more than four years, firefighter Carlos Baltazar has been missing, after a mysterious disappearance following the death of his fire chief. Now, remains found in October in a remote part of the San Bernardino Mountains have been identified as those of the 35-year-old. Per SFGate , Baltazar had been part...

Steve Carell Is Taking 800 LA Kids to the Prom

Actor combines with a charity to pony up tickets for students affected by California wildfires

(Newser) - A 62-year-old man taking any sort of interest in a high school prom might seem a little sketchy, but here we have Steve Carell offering to pony up for prom tickets for some 800 kids affected by the Los Angeles wildfires. As NBC News reports, the actor, working with a...

Former Los Angeles Fire Chief Appeals Controversial Firing

Mayor Karen Bass had placed blame on Kristin Crowley when she fired her

(Newser) - Former LAFD Fire Chief Kristin Crowley is appealing her termination at the hands of Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass. Crowley alerted City Council members to her appeal Thursday, KTLA reports. Bass' decision has been controversial, with at least one councilmember speaking out against it. The LAFD declined to comment on...

Wildfires Force a Rethinking of What a 'Home' Looks Like

Some in California want fire-resistant structures like SuperAdobe dwellings

(Newser) - Lots of homeowners and developers are scrambling to rebuild as fast as possible after the catastrophic California wildfires. But the Los Angeles Times reports on an uptick in interest in a fundamentally different kind of dwelling—relatively simple fire-resistant structures built in a style known as SuperAdobe.
  • "Instead of
...

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