The state’s insurance industry was reformed in late 2024 to promote coverage in disaster-prone areas. Tens of billions in fire damage will stress-test the new regime.

The biggest threat to Los Angeles remains the strong winds, which reduced in speed early Thursday morning, allowing firefighters to better take control of the fires. Stronger winds, however, are expected to return later in the day.

Nearly 400 prison inmates have been deployed by the California department of corrections and rehabilitation (CDCR) to contain the blazes, the department said in a statement to The Guardian. The crews of incarcerated firefighters are embedded with the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (Cal Fire) to assist its nearly 2,

Incarcerated firefighters working to battle the widespread Los Angeles brush fires are paid between $5.80 and $10.24 per day, plus $1 for active emergencies.

Nearly 800 prison inmates have been temporarily freed to assist firefighters in controlling the deadly Southern California wildfires that have burned with no end in sight since Tuesday. Those inmates are part of a minimum-security Conservation Camp Program consisting of 35 “fire camps” spread throughout California.