Los Angeles continues to burn. (WSJ, free link). I hope the insurance companies have enough money to pay all the homeowner and commercial claims. The damage is devastating:
Economic losses from the blazes have been estimated at tens of billions of dollars. Tens of thousands of people were displaced, roughly 33,000 acres were aflame and more than 200,000 were without power across the wider Los Angeles area. More than 360,000 people are under mandatory evacuation orders, said Robert Fenton, Jr., a regional administrator at the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
[More…]
President Joe Biden promised the feds would pick up a big part of the repair bills:
[Biden said Thursday] that the federal government will cover 100% of the disaster response for 180 days, up from the 75% it usually covers.
“I told the governor and local officials, spare no expense to do what they need to do and contain these fires,” said Biden. The funds will cover expenses such as debris removal, temporary shelters and first responder salaries, he said.
According to NBC News, more than 180,000 people have been ordered to evacuate and the fires have destroyed 46 square miles. The article includes haunting, blown up photos of some of the damage, which it calls “apocalyptic”.
Why hasn't Donald Trump gone to Southern California to view the damage? Or sent Don Jr., who made a trip to Greenland last week. (Trump Jr. said it was a private day trip and he didn't meet with officials. The Danish prime minister says Greenland is not for sale.
