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Southern CA Fires- Extreme Santa Ana Winds


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50 minutes ago, Brisketexan said:


Doesn’t matter.
Every single person bitching about how the LAFD needed a bigger budget, or more hydrants, or more reservoirs, ALSO has a “TAXATION IS THEFT!” post within the last 90 days.

IIRC, a residential water system is built to support fighting maybe 2-3 fires at a time.  Trying to fight 20+ and you won't have water in about 3 minutes.  As each house burns down, that water line is now spewing water, taking pressure out of the system anyway.  Don't forget that water pump stations and tanks that force water up those hills also burn up.  You can have 1 million LAFD firefighters out there but there's no way to get enough water to residential areas so it won't make a shit.  

Plus, the only real way to fight wildfires is to cut fire blocks. Good luck doing that in the steep canyons these fires are burning through.

West Austin, you're up next.

 

 

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2 hours ago, Deej said:

This is a great description. I remember the first time I was golfing in Los Alamitos and we teed off at 53° in the morning and about an hour or so later when the wind started, it was like somebody had turned a hairdryer on it was just this warm, dry, crazy fast air, and temperature shot up to about 70 in an instant. It really made golfing fun for the rest of the day. 

Bet you didn't even break 80

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2 hours ago, cmontexas said:

Question from a guy who doesn't work in insurance. From what I'm seeing the insurance payouts are capped at 3 million and the average home price is 4.6. 

Isn't most of that value the land though? 3 million to clear the lot and build a new house. How close to 4.6 million is the resulting new build?

Most of the value is in the land.  I’ve seen homes here in Manhattan beach sell for 2.5M. The home was unlivable and a full tear down. You’re buying the land.  It prob cost a couple hundred K to rebuild.    The thing that is going to suck for most of these folks is a lot of the homes built with beautiful views overlooking oceans etc will not be rebuilt because the codes have changed since they were built. Meaning these guys have unbuildable lots in PP and Malibu 

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4 hours ago, 956 Worldwide said:

It’s people looking to take photos and video to monetize for content and anyone who needed to be in the airspace professionally has no excuse not to be aware of the order.  There’s no excuse for it and it’s no different than parking a video van or some shit in front of a hydrant so you can get footage of someone’s house burning down. Fuck them in the ass, it’s the same mentality of looking to cash in and on a disaster. 

At least one of these planes was grounded due to a drone strike. 

Yep. Maliciously stoopid.

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NSIAP ...  I just read elsewhere that 'the city of Pasadena has asked the media to tell their citizens to stop using their leaf blowers to try and put out fires because it is just burning their neighbors homes down. Apparently it's become a serious problem'.

Wow. That's just gonna feed the fire. People are getting dumber by the day. SMH.

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3 minutes ago, Sgt Hulk said:

Most of the value is in the land.  I’ve seen homes here in Manhattan beach sell for 2.5M. The home was unlivable and a full tear down. You’re buying the land.  It prob cost a couple hundred K to rebuild.    The thing that is going to suck for most of these folks is a lot of the homes built with beautiful views overlooking oceans etc will not be rebuilt because the codes have changed since they were built. Meaning these guys have unbuildable lots in PP and Malibu 

Yep. Rebuilding, if possible at all, will take years to even start.

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2 minutes ago, Sgt Hulk said:

Most of the value is in the land.  I’ve seen homes here in Manhattan beach sell for 2.5M. The home was unlivable and a full tear down. You’re buying the land.  It prob cost a couple hundred K to rebuild.    The thing that is going to suck for most of these folks is a lot of the homes built with beautiful views overlooking oceans etc will not be rebuilt because the codes have changed since they were built. Meaning these guys have unbuildable lots in PP and Malibu 

That's what I think as well. I've seen too many individuals in California screwed by the changing codes for things like seawalls and water rights that I am pretty confident that it will be an issue. Perhaps with so many people affected and with the likelihood of bad press that they will let things slide, but I doubt it.

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3 minutes ago, wood said:

NSIAP ...  I just read elsewhere that 'the city of Pasadena has asked the media to tell their citizens to stop using their leaf blowers to try and put out fires because it is just burning their neighbors homes down. Apparently it's become a serious problem'.

Wow. That's just gonna feed the fire. People are getting dumber by the day. SMH.

We are at the point where we have to tell people “don’t fan the flames” means LITERALLY.

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7 minutes ago, C-Man said:

That kind of money has to be somewhere right?

1 hour ago, MAUFRAIS said:


If my house ever burns down, I hope I can get the “estimated collection value” discog’s has for my records.

Yep.

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14 minutes ago, C-Man said:

I'm betting the number is going to be closer to $200bn when you factor in the nationwide cost of insurance increase and a bunch of other factors.   No way on earth that $20bn is the number.  

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Not being political. Just citing a State Government Site.

Los Angeles, California – Governor Gavin Newsom today announced he has approved a request from Los Angeles County to deploy the California National Guard to support law enforcement efforts in the region.

The CalGuard service members join a historic number of personnel and resources combatting hurricane force wind-driven wildfires in Southern California, comprehensive efforts continue to push to extinguish the flames. 8,000 personnel are now deployed to fight fires and ensure public safety in Southern California – adding to resources not only statewide, but also throughout the entire nation.

Thanks to the incredible work of our first responders and emergency personnel, we’re throwing everything at our disposal – including our National Guard servicemembers – to protect communities in the days to come. And to those who would seek to take advantage of evacuated communities, let me be clear: looting will not be tolerated.

Known as the Military Police Forces, this law enforcement branch of the CalGuard will be stationed at traffic control points to ensure the safety of the surrounding community. In addition, their support helps build capacity of local law enforcement to support their respective areas. 

https://www.gov.ca.gov/2025/01/09/governor-newsom-deploys-california-national-guard-to-los-angeles-fires-looting-will-not-be-tolerated/

 

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The National Guard now roaming our streets and have cut all access to our neighborhood, whether on foot or not.  We were able to walk in and do cleanup yesterday.  

No word on when utilities will be restored.  Could be weeks.  Or longer.  Not sure what our plan is.

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13 minutes ago, Trey3216 said:

I'm betting the number is going to be closer to $200bn when you factor in the nationwide cost of insurance increase and a bunch of other factors.   No way on earth that $20bn is the number.  

The $20B is estimated insured losses. Yes, the actual economic loss will be far greater than that because not everything is insurable, etc.

 

6 minutes ago, Rip76 said:

Government help, etc.

Definitely -- assuming the new POTUS doesn't muddy the situation (trying to stay as CR-free as possible here).

 

5 minutes ago, Sbbruin said:

The National Guard now roaming our streets and have cut all access to our neighborhood, whether on foot or not.  We were able to walk in and do cleanup yesterday.  

No word on when utilities will be restored.  Could be weeks.  Or longer.  Not sure what our plan is.

Hey @Sbbruin, remind me where your house is in the LA area? I know we've traded a few DMs regarding insurance over the years. Sorry if I missed it on this thread, was your house directly effected? Sounds like your neighborhood at an absolute minimum saw damage (maybe substantial).

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7 minutes ago, C-Man said:

The $20B is estimated insured losses. Yes, the actual economic loss will be far greater than that because not everything is insurable, etc.

 

Definitely -- assuming the new POTUS doesn't muddy the situation (trying to stay as CR-free as possible here).

 

Hey @Sbbruin, remind me where your house is in the LA area? I know we've traded a few DMs regarding insurance over the years. Sorry if I missed it on this thread, was your house directly effected? Sounds like your neighborhood at an absolute minimum saw damage (maybe substantial).

I think the insured losses are going to be much higher to be honest.  I've seen numbers of 20,000 structures destroyed.  20,000 structures @ $1mm insured is $20bn.  Now factor in the business insurance aspect.  I think we're pushing in the $50bn+ in insured losses and overall economic impact closer to 12 digits than 9.  

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24 minutes ago, bolverk said:

According to this AP article, the Pallisades fire started behind one of the houses on this street (Google map link).

image.thumb.png.bc475fd8e2c8c4d33af199b2ba6186e9.png

 

 

Holy hell.   1 it is amazing to me that they can pin point something like this.   2 if  the cause of this fire was due to your negligence, Im not sure how many people could live with that.

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22 minutes ago, Sbbruin said:

The National Guard now roaming our streets and have cut all access to our neighborhood, whether on foot or not.  We were able to walk in and do cleanup yesterday.  

No word on when utilities will be restored.  Could be weeks.  Or longer.  Not sure what our plan is.

So if you have ID matching the address as your residence you still cannot gain access today?( Just going by hurricane clean up experience.)

 

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Also, the drone-operaters that are putting 1st responders' lives on the line and affecting the fire mitigation are pure scum and need to be thrown in this same gulag as the looters.   They are absolute pathetic losers and degenerates who should be removed from society.

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47 minutes ago, Bevo said:

That's what I think as well. I've seen too many individuals in California screwed by the changing codes for things like seawalls and water rights that I am pretty confident that it will be an issue. Perhaps with so many people affected and with the likelihood of bad press that they will let things slide, but I doubt it.

Maybe ISWYDT???

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2 hours ago, C-Man said:

Correct. The insured value on EVERY insurance policy covers the improvements only. The dirt is not insured. In California, the dirt is worth a substantial portion of the overall value of real estate. If you've been following the last few days, my second example of the a prospect we worked on in Montecito -- the actual value to rebuild his home is probably $5.5M or so give or take. However, if he were to sell that house/property he could probably get more than $10M. The insured value is only the value to rebuild the home. We fight with mortgage companies all the time because they don't understand this. They want coverage to at least match the amount of the loan -- well, that loan also includes the dirt and you don't insure the dirt because it isn't going anywhere. So, the article I posted is a little misleading -- not intentionally mind you. I'm not overly familiar with the Palisades area but I know there were a number of well-known celebs living in the area. The $4.6M number cited in that article includes the value of the land.

For an example a little closer to home, lots in the Park Cities (Highland Park/University Park) generally start at $1M and increase substantially from there. You can definitely get in situations where the true cost to build a home is $500K-$750K (there aren't that many of these left) but the owner could probably get up to (or more) than $2M if they decided to sell.

Used to argue with my insurer and lender all the time when I had a mortgage on my first house.  I bought inside the loop (Afton Oaks) Houston in 2006.  Think I paid $400k.  Loan was $320.  Was a 3-2 2k sq foot ranch.  Back then, the cost to rebuild the house was maybe $220k.  They made me get coverage equivalent to loan.  I asked them if my house was a total loss, i.e. burned down, would they then be cutting me a check for $320k, the limit on the structure?  Nope, they said.  Just the cost to rebuild of $220k.  Exactly was my point. The amount of coverage max should be the total cost to rebuild.  Not whatever the loan was.  Because my value was the dirt.  Not the 50 year old small house sitting on it.

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2 hours ago, babysdaddy said:

Just in general, there is typically a reason to no longer be friends/acquaintances with certain folks from high school and college.  Facebook fucked that up.  

 

And to be on topic, my best friend's brother lost his home in the palisades.  3 kids under 4 and they had to evacuate.

Is his wife’s maiden name Duggar?

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I feel ya.  Chase bank is driving me crazy.  They have a procedure for getting your insurance company checklist of damage along with the check.   The bank holds the check until you do the work and then they reimburse you.   In my case, State Farm said they owed me absolutely nothing and all of the damage was pre-hurricane Ida.   So I sued them. I claimed attorney fees, bad faith, penalties expert fees, filing fees, interest, etc..    the case was removed to federal court where in that district, you can’t do any discovery and you have to sit around for a year to have a court ordered mediation.

So I went to mediation where they repeated that they owed me nothing. Five hours later, we walked out of mediation with the case settled.   The only document is one page that says they give me X to go away.  There is no judgment or even an informal agreement about what parts of My Home were damaged by the storm.  Basically, the cost of defending the federal lawsuit was x-  and so they paid me less than X just to leave them alone.

getting through to the higher-ups who know how to handle litigation proceeds has been a pain.   And while I know they need to protect their interest, I have about 70% equity in my house, so even if I spent the settlement money on hookers and blow their property value is totally protected in the event they need to foreclose in the future.

I hate banks

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51 minutes ago, Iceman said:

So if you have ID matching the address as your residence you still cannot gain access today?( Just going by hurricane clean up experience.)

 

This was the Hugo situation outside Charleston where folks wanted to fight the Guard. I heard it second hand from Sakalina guard dudes, but the multi-repeated rumor intel was that you had "Do You Know Who I Am?" civilians attempting to bust through a line of Guardsman so they could personally go check on their stuff. Guard didn't know who was who or fuckall what they wanted to do back there once (if) they checked on their own houses. Got animated.

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1 hour ago, wood said:

NSIAP ...  I just read elsewhere that 'the city of Pasadena has asked the media to tell their citizens to stop using their leaf blowers to try and put out fires because it is just burning their neighbors homes down. Apparently it's become a serious problem'.

Wow. That's just gonna feed the fire. People are getting dumber by the day. SMH.

Jfc

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1 hour ago, Trey3216 said:

I think the insured losses are going to be much higher to be honest.  I've seen numbers of 20,000 structures destroyed.  20,000 structures @ $1mm insured is $20bn.  Now factor in the business insurance aspect.  I think we're pushing in the $50bn+ in insured losses and overall economic impact closer to 12 digits than 9.  

Very well could be. Like I said, we're still at the "don't know shit about fuck" part of this disaster.

 

40 minutes ago, Gatorubet said:

I feel ya.  Chase bank is driving me crazy.  They have a procedure for getting your insurance company checklist of damage along with the check.   The bank holds the check until you do the work and then they reimburse you.   In my case, State Farm said they owed me absolutely nothing and all of the damage was pre-hurricane Ida.   So I sued them. I claimed attorney fees, bad faith, penalties expert fees, filing fees, interest, etc..    the case was removed to federal court where in that district, you can’t do any discovery and you have to sit around for a year to have a court ordered mediation.

So I went to mediation where they repeated that they owed me nothing. Five hours later, we walked out of mediation with the case settled.   The only document is one page that says they give me X to go away.  There is no judgment or even an informal agreement about what parts of My Home were damaged by the storm.  Basically, the cost of defending the federal lawsuit was x-  and so they paid me less than X just to leave them alone.

getting through to the higher-ups who know how to handle litigation proceeds has been a pain.   And while I know they need to protect their interest, I have about 70% equity in my house, so even if I spent the settlement money on hookers and blow their property value is totally protected in the event they need to foreclose in the future.

I hate banks

That's how it works when there's a mortgage when the claim gets above a certain threshold. We had a water claim a couple of years back. Vault adjusted the claim and sent a check to us that we had to forward to the lender where it was held in escrow. I think we were given 1/3 of the overall claim check and then got the rest once we proved via video inspection we were doing the repairs we were supposed to be doing. At that point, First United released the remainder of the claim amount.

 

21 minutes ago, Ted Lange said:

IS that actually a thing?   You can just sue the insurance company to get a new roof?

Not exactly. If you think you have a claim, you file it with the carrier. Carrier sends adjustor out to look. Adjustor determines is there's hail damage and if so, the cost to repair or replace said damage. If the claim is denied you can go the third-party adjustor route. You pay for the third-party adjustor, who then does their own inspection. If the TPA feels that there's damage you can use that as evidence with the carrier to reconsider. If carrier still says no, all you're left with is taking legal action if you want.

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1 hour ago, Ted Lange said:

Also, the drone-operaters that are putting 1st responders' lives on the line and affecting the fire mitigation are pure scum and need to be thrown in this same gulag as the looters.   They are absolute pathetic losers and degenerates who should be removed from society.

but just think of how many likes they will get on their instagram page for getting the up close shot 

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1 hour ago, Iceman said:

So if you have ID matching the address as your residence you still cannot gain access today?( Just going by hurricane clean up experience.)

 

Someone posted that they are now allowing a one time visit to grab essentials.  Will go this afternoon to confirm.  

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