State Farm asks for insurance rate hike of 22 percent after L.A. fires

Wildfires in Los Angeles have resulted in at least 27 deaths. The Palisades Fire has destroyed thousands of buildings and burned through more than 23,700 acres, while the Eaton Fire consumed more than 14,000 acres. Although crews have made progress in containing the fires, the direct cause remains undetermined. The Palisades Fire may have been caused by the reignition of a previous blaze. A Washington Post review found a key ‘weakness’ in the Los Angeles fire strategy that went unaddressed for years. The extreme behavior of the fires made containment efforts challenging, and Los Angeles’ urban sprawl and water system left the city particularly unprepared for multiple blazes. Before and after images of the devastation and a visual timeline of how the fires evolved are available. — news from The Washington Post