Winds calmed Friday around Los Angeles, providing a fleeting window of opportunity for firefighters battling five major blazes, as official recriminations began over responsibility for the disaster.At least 11 people have died as flames ripped through neighborhoods and razed thousands of homes this week in a disaster that US President Joe Biden likened to a “war scene.”As the scale of the damage to America’s second-biggest city came into focus — one new estimate suggested the bill could hit $150 billion — Angelenos grappled with the heart-rending ruin.”I lost everything. My house burned down and I lost everything,” Hester Callul, who reached a shelter after fleeing her Altadena home, told AFP.With fears of looting and crime growing, California Governor Gavin Newsom deployed the National Guard to bolster law enforcement.A nighttime curfew has been imposed in evacuated areas, and dozens of arrests made.”This curfew will be strictly enforced,” said Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna. “We are not screwing around with this.”The five separate fires have so far burned more than 35,000 acres (14,000 hectares), California’s fire agency reported.”It reminded me of more of a war scene, where you had certain targets that were bombarded,” said Biden, as he received a briefing on the fires at the White House. – ‘Devastating’ -A lull in winds enabled much-needed progress in tackling the fires Friday.The biggest of the blazes has burned down more than 20,000 acres of the upscale Pacific Palisades and Malibu neighborhoods, where firefighters said they were starting to get the fire under control.By Friday eight percent of its perimeter was contained — meaning it can’t spread any further in that direction.”Braveheart” actor Mel Gibson was the latest celebrity to reveal his Malibu home had burned down, telling NewsNation the loss was “devastating.”The Eaton fire in the Altadena area was three percent checked, with almost 14,000 acres scorched and key infrastructure — including communication towers — threatened.Fire chief Jason Schillinger said Friday that “significant progress” had been made in quelling the blaze.A third fire that exploded Thursday afternoon near Calabasas and the wealthy Hidden Hills enclave, home to celebrities like Kim Kardashian, was 35 percent surrounded.But emergency chiefs warned the situation is “still very dangerous” and the reprieve from intense gusts that spread embers will not last.”The winds have died down today, but… are going to increase again in the coming days,” said Deanne Criswell, administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency.- ‘Need answers’ -The Los Angeles County medical examiner’s office confirmed an additional fatality on Friday, bringing the overall death toll so far to 11.Authorities have said it was too early to know the cause of the blazes, but criticism has mounted of officials’ preparedness and response.Newsom ordered on Friday a “full independent review” of the city’s water utilities, describing the lack of water supplies and loss of pressure at hydrants during the initial fires as “deeply troubling.””We need answers to how that happened,” he wrote in an open letter.Los Angeles fire chief Kristin Crowley blamed funding cuts to her department, telling Fox News affiliate KTTV: “We are still understaffed, we’re still under-resourced, and we’re still underfunded.”Meanwhile, emergency managers apologized Friday after false evacuation alerts were erroneously sent to millions of mobile phones, sparking panic.”I can’t express enough how sorry I am,” said Kevin McGowan, the director of the Los Angeles County Office of Emergency Management.And aviation authorities were investigating who had piloted an illegal drone that struck a water-dropping aircraft, punching a fist-sized hole in the plane and taking it out of action.- Misinformation -Biden also took a veiled swipe at incoming president Donald Trump, who has spread misinformation over the flames that has then been amplified on social media.”You’re going to have a lot of demagogues out there trying to take advantage of it,” Biden said of the fires.Wildfires occur naturally, but scientists say human-caused climate change is altering weather and changing the dynamics of the blazes.Two wet years in southern California have given way to a very dry one, leaving ample fuel on the ground primed to burn.The fires could be the costliest ever recorded, with AccuWeather estimating total damage and loss between $135 billion and $150 billion.

Emergency managers in Los Angeles apologized Friday after false evacuation alerts sparked panic in a city on edge over an unprecedented wildfire disaster.Millions of mobile phones blared on Thursday afternoon and again on Friday morning with automated warnings urging people to be ready to flee.”This is an emergency message from the Los Angeles County Fire Department. An EVACUATION WARNING has been issued in your area,” said the message, which was widely disseminated on Thursday, including to areas well away from the danger zones.”Remain vigilant of any threats and be ready to evacuate. Gather loved ones, pets and supplies.”Huge fires in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles and around Altadena have consumed 35,000 acres, razing thousands of buildings and killing 10 people.For many Angelenos, the alert system was the first they knew of the blazes and the need to escape.Some 153,000 people are currently under mandatory evacuation orders across the region.A correction was sent 20 minutes later, explaining the alert had only applied to the new Kenneth Fire that was exploding to the north of the city.Nevertheless, a similar erroneous message was sent out around 4 am Friday.Kevin McGowan, the director of the Los Angeles County Office of Emergency Management, said the automated errors had caused “frustration, anger (and) fear.””I can’t express enough how sorry I am,” he told reporters.McGowan said he was working with specialists to find out what had gone wrong and why so many people were sent messages that did not apply to them.”I implore everyone to not disable the messages on your phone,” he said.”This is extremely frustrating, painful and scary, but these alert tools have saved lives during these emergencies.”Los Angeles County Supervisor Lindsey Horvath said the error was “unacceptable.””I want to express my deep frustration with the alert system that is causing confusion and additional panic for our communities at this time of extreme crisis,” she said.”Whatever the cause, it is unacceptable.”Chris Sheach, assistant professor in disaster management at Paul Smith’s College, said automated warning systems are always susceptible to “kinks and bugs,” particularly as they are rarely used at scale, but still remain vital in reducing the death toll during disasters.”Likely it was a coding error,” that caused warnings to reach unintended recipients in the wrong area codes, he told AFP.”The benefits far outweigh the risks. If this had been the Palisades in 1975… the only way they could evacuate people was fire trucks driving street by street with a megaphone.”Sheach said it was important for authorities to be up front about the mistakes, so that citizens do not ignore or disable future alerts.”Millions of these messages go out every year across the country, across the globe, to communities that are appropriate, safe, and on time,” he said.”Because of those misses, it takes a little extra work to build the trust.”

The United States and Britain on Friday announced sanctions against Russia’s energy sector, including oil giant Gazprom Neft, just days before outgoing President Joe Biden leaves office.The US Treasury Department said it was designating more than 180 ships as well as Russian oil majors Gazprom Neft and Surgutneftegas, fulfilling “the G7 commitment to reduce Russian revenues from energy.”At the same time, the UK government announced sanctions against the two companies, saying their profits were “lining (Russian President Vladimir) Putin’s war chest and facilitating the war” in Ukraine.”Taking on Russian oil companies will drain Russia’s war chest –- and every ruble we take from Putin’s hands helps save Ukrainian lives,” UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy said in a statement.”Putin is in tough shape right now, and I think it’s really important that he not have any breathing room to continue to do the god-awful things he continues to do,” Biden told reporters Friday at the White House.Gazprom Neft slammed the sanctions as “baseless” and “illegitimate,” Russian state news agencies reported.”Gazprom Neft considers the decision to include its assets on the sanctions list as baseless, illegitimate and contrary to the principles of free competition,” Russian state news agencies quoted a company representative as saying.Oil prices rose on the news, with a barrel of Brent North Sea crude oil for delivery in March up 3.6 percent at $79.68 at around 4:45 pm in Washington (2145 GMT).Asked about gasoline prices, Biden conceded costs could rise “as much as three, four cents a gallon,” but stressed that sanctions would have a “more profound impact” on Russia.- ‘Sweeping action’ -Even before the sanctions were officially announced, rumors of fresh designations sparked condemnation from Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, who told reporters that the Biden administration was trying to leave incoming US President Donald Trump “as heavy a legacy as possible.”In total, the United States announced sanctions against almost 400 people and entities.These include 183 oil-carrying vessels, along with Russian oil traders and oilfield providers, the two Russian oil majors, and more than two dozen of their subsidiaries, according to the Treasury Department.Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic announced plans to speak with Putin about the sanctions, which also affect Petroleum Industry of Serbia (NIS), majority-owned by Russia’s Gazprom Neft and its parent company, Gazprom. NIS is the only supplier of gas to Serbia and the majority owner of both gas pipelines that transport gas from Russia to households and industries in the country.”Today, the United States imposed the most significant sanctions yet on Russia’s energy sector, by far the largest source of revenue for Putin’s war,” Daleep Singh, the Biden administration’s deputy national security advisor for international economics, said in a statement.Senior administration officials told reporters the measures were designed to give the United States additional leverage to help broker a “just peace” between Ukraine and Russia. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky praised the United States for introducing the sanctions. “These measures deliver a significant blow to the financial foundation of Russia’s war machine by disrupting its entire supply chain,” he wrote in a post on the social media platform X.- Strong economy influenced timing -Friday’s announcement comes just 10 days before Biden is due to step down, and puts President-elect Trump in something of an awkward position given his stated desire to end the Ukraine war on day one of his presidency.Asked about the timing, National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby told reporters that oil markets were now in a “fundamentally” better place than they had been in the aftermath of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, and that the US economy was also faring better. “We believe the moment was ripe right now to adjust our strategy,” he said.The US State Department announced it was also taking action against Russia’s energy sector, “sanctioning nearly 80 entities and individuals, including those engaged in the active production and export of liquefied natural gas (LNG) from Russia.”Among those it designated were people involved in Russia’s metals and mining sector, “and senior officials of State Atomic Energy Corporation Rosatom.”The move sparked condemnation from Rosatom, which called it “unreasonable and unlawful” in nature.”The sanctions are perceived as an element of unfair competition on the part of unfriendly states,” Rosatom said in a statement published by several Russian news agencies. 

The fires ravaging upmarket Los Angeles districts Pacific Palisades and Malibu will be the most expensive ever to hit California, according to experts, who expect premiums to rise in a region already abandoned by many insurers.Analysts at JPMorgan estimated that the total cost of damage and insured damage had doubled in less than 24 hours to $50 billion and $20 billion respectively. And the flames were still advancing on several fronts Friday.These record levels already far outstrip the 2017 Tubbs fire and the 2018 Camp fire, whose estimates of insured damage have climbed, according to sources, to as much as $16 billion.The value of the houses makes all the difference: At this stage, more than 10,000 buildings have been destroyed this week, the vast majority of them homes worth an average of $3 million.By comparison, some 18,000 buildings were destroyed in the Camp fire in 2018, but the average house was only around $500,000.David Burt, the founder and director of DeltaTerra, a consultancy firm specializing in climate-related financial risks, estimates that the market value of the 15,400 homes in Pacific Palisades is close to $13.5 billion.Despite the high cost of the damage, experts believe insurance companies should have no problem compensating their customers.According to Standard and Poor’s, the insurers are starting 2025 with comfortable reserves thanks to strong financial results over the last two years.They have also significantly reduced their presence in the Californian regions that are highly exposed to fire risk, and are also well diversified.The JPMorgan analysts see things the same way, insisting that, at this stage, it expects “the vast majority of losses stemming from the wildfires to be concentrated in homeowners’ insurance,” and a “significantly lesser amount” in commercial fire and personal auto.- Insurance ‘exodus’ -“There’s been a mass exodus of big players from the market in these parts of California,” Ben Keys, a real estate and finance professor at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, told a conference Friday.”We’ve seen enormous non-renewals recently,” he said. On Wednesday, California’s insurance commissioner, Ricardo Lara, announced that homeowners in areas affected by and around the fires would be protected for a year against non-renewal and cancellation of coverage. This type of measure protected more than a million contracts in 2024.In 1968, the coastal state set up a public insurance scheme, called FAIR, for homeowners who could no longer find a private insurer.This “band-aid” was supposed to be temporary while people moved from one insurance policy to another, but has now expanded well beyond its intended use, lamented Keys, pointing out that its exposure had risen from $50 billion in 2018 to more than $450 billion today.To bring companies back on board, Commissioner Lara has also initiated a reform process authorizing them to increase premiums on condition that they do not apply any geographical exclusions.There is no longer any question of “cherry-picking” to select the best contracts, said Susan Crawford, an expert on climate and geopolitics at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.”The acceleration in ferocious weather events… should trigger awareness that actually things do need to change,” she said. “We need some measure of political adjustments in reaction to rapid climate change.”In the meantime, Californians — and perhaps Americans nationwide — should prepare for an increase in premiums; 2025 has only just begun, and the previous year was marked by some destructive disasters.According to modelling by the specialist website AccuWeather, hurricanes Milton and Helene caused $160-$180 billion and $225-$250 billion in damage respectively. On Wednesday, it estimated the total cost of the Los Angeles fires so far at between $135 billion and $150 billion.The State Department published a new national strategy on climate change Friday, stating that climate-related disasters like winter storms and hurricanes had caused $182.7 billion in economic losses in 2024 — twice as much as in 2023.