As wildfires raged this month in California, insurance claims experts at Travelers sat in a command center 3,000 miles (4,828 kilometers) away in Connecticut, monitoring screens showing satellite images, photos from airplane flyovers and social media posts describing what was happening on the ground.

In just two weeks, the Camp Fire in Northern California has destroyed more structures than the state's other seven worst wildfires combined. The fire has also killed nearly three times as many people as the Griffith Park Fire - a record that stood for 85 years. And with 870 residents of Paradise and the surrounding area still missing, that total will likely rise.

A week after reporting a power-line outage near where the Camp Fire is suspected of starting, Pacific Gas & Electric said in a regulatory filing that it suffered a second problem with a high voltage line the morning the devastating fire ignited.

Risk modeling firm RMS said on Monday that it estimated insured losses from the Camp and Woolsey wildfires, which ravaged California, between $9 billion and $13 billion.

Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones issued an emergency notice Thursday to help expedite claims filed by victims recovering their properties from the California wildfires.

One huge fire was caused by a spark set off by a man with a hammer, working on a fence post in a field of dry vegetation. Another began at a backyard barbecue. A 2007 fire on Santa Catalina Island was ignited by workers cutting metal wires with a torch.

Northbound Highway 1 opened 3:15 p.m. Tuesday in Santa Cruz County after authorities cleared 21 crushed vehicles after a tractor-trailer’s brakes failed and the truck slammed into stopped vehicles near River Street, according to California Highway Patrol.

Search teams will fan out across the charred landscape of Paradise, California looking for human remains on Tuesday as authorities prepare for a rise in the deathcount from the state’s deadliest wildfire.

The current outbreak of wildfire activity in California is now the most destructive on record and joint deadliest, with the Camp Fire now having destroyed more than 6,700 structures, while the Woolsey Fire has expanded further and as a result multi-billion dollar losses are to be expected for insurance, reinsurance and ILS market interests.

As they worked this week to save lives, firefighters and police officers in Paradise had their own personal fear in the back of their minds: Will my home survive the onslaught of the Camp Fire? For many, the unfortunate answer is no.

The forecast for crews battling the California wildfires was anything but promising Monday. Near hurricane-force gusts may be in the cards for some already scorched areas.

Massive wildfires are tearing through parts of California, destroying hundreds buildings and forcing thousands of people from their homes. An emergency evacuation order was issued for several neighborhoods west of Los Angeles as firefighters frantically fought back the Woolsey Fire.

A dark plume was clearly visible around southwest Santa Rosa on Saturday afternoon after a fire broke out at a large industrial building and destroyed at least two businesses, fire officials said.

Tuesday’s midterm Election Day is filled with fascinating races coast to coast — from the Florida gubernatorial contest to the Texas Senate race, with control of Congress hanging in the balance. Not as many people are paying attention to the expected turnover among state insurance commissioners.

Crashes are up by as much as 6 percent in Colorado, Nevada, Oregon and Washington, compared with neighboring states that haven’t legalized marijuana for recreational use, new research from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) and Highway Loss Data Institute (HLDI) shows. The findings come as campaigns to decriminalize marijuana gain traction with voters and legislators in the U.S., and Canada begins allowing recreational use of marijuana this month.