Nearly a dozen people are believed to be dead -- with the Los Angeles County sheriff saying he expects that number to rise -- as devastating fires spread across Southern California amid dry and windy conditions,

The biggest wildfires ravaging the Los Angeles area have killed at least 10 people and burned more than 10,000 structures. Follow Newsweek's live blog.

California fires have become some of the most destructive in Los Angeles history. With thousands of structures destroyed and lives lost, these wildfires are now ranking among the worst in the state’s history.

The state of California announced a one-year moratorium on the cancellation or non-renewal of homeowners insurance policies in zip codes affected by the Los Angeles-area wildfires.

In 2019, the number of homeowners’ policies in California that were not renewed jumped by more than thirty per cent. In 2023, two giant insurers, State Farm and Allstate, announced that they would stop writing new policies for various forms of property insurance in California.

Lynne Levin-Guzman stood in the front yard of her 90-year old parents’ home in Los Angeles County, California, trying to protect it with a garden hose — because their insurance company no longer would.