A magnitude 4.5 earthquake shook up the San Francisco Bay Area early Thursday.It was felt throughout the region, and could be felt for perhaps five to 10 seconds. Near the San Francisco International Airport, several jolts could be felt.

This year will go down as one of the worst in California wildfire history, the latest state fire statistics show. As of Dec. 11:
Large wildfires had destroyed or damaged more than 10,000 structures in California this year, a higher tally than the last nine years combined.

State Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones on Thursday urged insurance companies to provide North Bay fire victims up to 100 percent of their personal property coverage limits without requiring them to fill out a detailed inventory.

The monster of a wildfire burning in Southern California is now the second-largest blaze in the history of the state — since accurate records were kept starting in 1932. Officials estimate that the Thomas Fire will grow to become the biggest in California history before full containment, expected by Jan. 7.

The wine country wildfires have claimed another victim. This one, a clean-up worker. Truck driver Ezekiel Jackson Sumner Jr. was killed over the weekend, when he was hit by his own truck.

A San Diego federal jury this week convicted a Beverly Hills radiologist for his role in a massive fraud scheme that involved kickbacks for patient referrals so he could bill insurance companies more than $25 million in unnecessary medical services.

By Sunday morning, a multimillion-dollar house on the top of Park Hill Lane in Montecito was still smoldering and on fire.
All that stood were cement blocks that outlined the frame of the house — once yellow, it had been turned black by the fire.

California homeowners and regulators have a new fear about wildfires ravaging the state: that insurers will drop coverage. Massive, out-of-season fires in northern and southern California are causing billions of dollars in claims and challenging expectations of when and where to expect blazes.

A firefighter died Thursday while battling the Thomas fire as authorities braced for new powerful winds that could pose threats to homes in Santa Barbara and Ventura counties. Officials said a combination of Santa Ana and sundowner winds will hit the area from Thursday through Sunday, bringing new dangers to a fire that now ranks as the fourth-largest in the state’s modern history.

A 24-year-old Santa Ana woman was sentenced to three years in prison on Monday for fleeing the scene after fatally hitting a pedestrian and then falsely reporting to her insurance company that her vehicle had been vandalized.

In a hopeful sign, thousands of firefighters were making headway Tuesday against the vast Thomas Fire in Southern California, with winds decreasing to 15 to 25 mph and the Santa Ana wind event beginning to wane. The blaze, which is larger than New York City, was about 25% contained Tuesday, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, known as Cal Fire.

LOS ANGELES — The winds aren’t changing for Southern California’s wildfires yet.
The fifth largest blaze in state history was threatening thousands of homes as it churned through coastal mountains amid persistently dangerous weather conditions.

A single-engine plane with four people aboard crashed into a Clairemont home and burst into flames Saturday, killing two passengers and destroying the house, authorities said.

Firefighters are struggling to contain the biggest of six blazes burning in southern California, with the Thomas Fire slipping from 15% containment to 10% Sunday. Covering 230,000 acres, the Thomas Fire is now the fifth largest blaze in modern California history.

Hundreds of elite thoroughbred race horses sprinted away from flames Thursday as one of California’s major wildfires tore through a training center in San Diego County. Not all made it.