Wineries damaged by wildfires tearing through Northern California are starting insurance claims, and at least some of the smaller vintners are likely to find limits in their policies mean payouts fall short of rebuilding costs.

State officials announced Friday that the wildfires across Northern California have destroyed at least 5,700 buildings. An analysis by The New York Times using satellite images in combination with its own ground surveys found that one fire in particular incinerated at least 5,100 structures, which would make it the most destructive wildfire in the state’s history.

Wildfires like Canyon 2 that has scorched parts of Anaheim, Orange and Tustin are why Southern California is home to two of the nation’s riskiest housing markets for wildfires.

Puerto Rico is in ruins. Thousands are displaced in Houston. The Gulf Coast is bracing for a fresh round of hurricanes. Now, epic wildfires are incinerating California.

The 17 wildfires that have burned more than 115,000 acres in California since Sunday have now been blamed for 17 deaths. The fast-moving blazes have destroyed at least 2,000 buildings, many of them in the wine country region of Napa, Sonoma, and Mendocino counties.

At least 11 people were killed and more than 100 were injured on Monday as massive wildfires swept through parts of California, destroying 1,500 residences and buildings, authorities said. Firefighters were battling 17 fires across multiple counties around the state as of late Monday night, authorities said.

Fire destroyed neighborhoods from north Santa Rosa to the Sonoma Valley early Monday, as an estimated 10 fires burned destructive paths across the North Coast, driven by strong winds that for hours fueled the fires and forced entire communities to flee in the middle of the night.

General Motors Co’s self-driving unit, Cruise Automation, told California regulators its vehicles were involved in six crashes in the state in September, but said none of automated vehicles were responsible.

The Supreme Court has a long history of ruling against consumers when it involves a company’s attempt to strip its customers of their right to a day in court, but this week the nation’s highest court decided to not hear an appeal in a lawsuit involving Samsung, marking a rare instance in which SCOTUS came down on the consumers’ side in this issue.

One day after a rockfall killed a British tourist on El Capitan, another rattled Yosemite National Park’s famous rock climbing destination on Thursday, injuring one man.

Park officials identified the man as Jim Evans.
The tourist killed on Wednesday was identified as Andrew Foster of Wales. His wife was seriously injured, but her name has not been released by park authorities.
The injured woman was airlifted to a nearby hospital.

More than 25 percent of used vehicles sold at eight CarMax locations across the U.S. contained safety defects that weren’t repaired, despite being under recall, according to a review by car safety advocates. Some of the cars included unrepaired Takata airbags, which have been linked to numerous deaths.

The landlord of the Ghost Ship warehouse where 36 people died in a fire Dec. 2 has avoided prosecution, but she’s set to collect at least $3.1 million in insurance payments, according to an insurance document obtained exclusively by this news agency.

An off-duty LAPD officer was arrested following a suspected DUI crash that killed a teenage boy and his parents on the 605 Freeway late Tuesday night, authorities said Wednesday.

Cliff Treese of Association Data brought some statistics to my attention involving earthquake (EQ) insurance in California. Going back as far as 2001, the percentage of properties without EQ insurance were: Homeowners 84-88%, Dwelling 95-97%, and Commercial 89-93%.

Cora Angeles parked her car near a gas station at the foot of her Corona hillside neighborhood. With her granddaughter by her side, she said a prayer. "Put out the fire, Lord," the 66-year-old said, through tears. "Please help us."