US wildfire damage reaches $275 billion

Jonathan Porter, the company's chief meteorologist, said: "These fast-moving fires, spread by wind, have created one of the costliest fire disasters in modern American history."
He added: "The devastation left behind is heartbreaking and the economic damage is staggering."
According to the company's updated estimate, the total economic damage from the fires is between $250 billion and $275 billion.
According to the US Weather Service, strong and dangerous winds are expected to return this week, raising concerns for ongoing firefighting efforts after at least 24 people were killed.
Winds of 70 mph (113 kph) are expected to hit three areas in Ventura and northwest Los Angeles where the Palisades and Hearst fires have caused widespread destruction, the National Weather Service said.
The devastating Los Angeles wildfires are becoming the costliest wildfires in U.S. history, as the winter approaches and the political transition from Democrats to Republicans shifts.
The Los Angeles wildfires, which began Tuesday about 25 miles north of downtown Los Angeles, have sent shockwaves through America's second-largest city, with no definitive cause for the blazes.
The incident is fueling an insurance crisis in California, raising questions about how insurers will cover millions of homeowners against future disasters.
Meanwhile, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass issued an executive order to accelerate recovery efforts after the devastating fires in the city.
"This unprecedented natural disaster requires an unprecedented response to accelerate the rebuilding of homes, businesses and communities," the Los Angeles mayor said in a statement from her office.
The fires have so far destroyed 12,000 structures, and in addition to the deaths of 24 people, several others are still missing.
Efforts to contain the fires are ongoing, but significant swaths of Los Angeles and Southern California are still burning.