Axios

As devastating wildfires raged across Los Angeles County this week, firefighters battling the blazes encountered fire hydrants that had no water.

Why it matters: The dry fire hydrants sparked political outrage and illustrated just how unprepared municipal water systems are to combat the sorts of large-scale urban wildfires that have become more frequent with climate change.

Tesla has pocketed $11 billion from the sale of regulatory credits to rival automakers needing help to hit tough emissions targets — easy money that could dry up if President-elect Trump rolls back Biden-era regulations.

Why it matters: Tesla's billionaire CEO, Elon Musk, is spearheading Trump's effort to cut government red tape.

The National Weather Service plans to issue a red flag warning of critical fire weather conditions including gusty winds and low relative humidity, effective Saturday evening through Sunday afternoon, for Los Angeles and Ventura counties, the agency's LA office stated Saturday morning.

The big picture: Historic California wildfires have severely impacted these areas, and the NWS expects offshore Santa Ana winds to pick back up, with another strong offshore event occurring early next week and no rain in sight.

Risk experts believe the insured losses from the Los Angeles wildfires will easily top $20 billion, but in some ways that's only the start of the crisis California now faces.

Why it matters: Anything above $12.5 billion would pass 2018's Camp Fire to become the largest insured wildfire loss ever, per data from insurance broker Aon. Economic losses will be substantially higher, perhaps tens of billions of dollars more.

The wildfires that have killed 10 people and razed about 10,000 structures this week continued to rage across Los Angeles County on Friday.

The big picture: The fires are already among the most destructive recorded in the state.

As the Los Angeles fires continue to burn, Axios spoke with Bill Clerico, former fintech CEO who in 2022 Convective Capital to invest in wildfire tech startups.

What follows is an edited transcrtipt of the conversation:

Last year was Earth's warmest on record, eclipsing 2023's record and for the first time exceeding the Paris target of 1.5°C above preindustrial levels, the Copernicus Climate Change Service announced.

Why it matters: While climate scientists don't put too much stock into an individual year's record, the long-term trend is toward more rapid warming, and it is not entirely clear why 2024 was so hot and what it portends.

The Honda Civic hybrid, Ford Ranger and Volkswagen ID. Buzz are the winners of the 2025 North American Car, Truck & Utility of the Year awards.

Why it matters: The selection of a hybrid sedan, a gasoline pickup truck and an electric minivan as the industry's best vehicles offers proof that consumers have a multitude of choices when it comes to car buying.

Fact-checking suddenly looks quaint, inadequate and practically irrelevant.

• Whole realities — the supposed culprits for the LA inferno, a new MAGA map of the world, a child sex-abuse scandal ("grooming gangs") in Britain — now sweep the internet overnight.
• We no longer need fact-checkers. We need reality-checkers.

Why it matters: When President-elect Trump takes office 10 days from now, he'll be more impervious than ever to metaphysical truth — long the purview of traditional, rigorous news reporting.

None of the Los Angeles County fires that have killed at least 10 people are among California's 20 largest wildfires, but they're among the most destructive on record as they burned more structures overnight.

The big picture: Mayor Karen Bass described this enduring "firestorm" that prompted tens of thousands to evacuate after erupting Tuesday amid extremely dry conditions and Santa Ana winds that reached hurricane-force intensity as "the big one in magnitude."

Raging wildfires tearing through Los Angeles County into Thursday have razed neighborhoods across the area, leaving behind a trail of destruction and deaths.

The latest: At least 10 fire-related deaths have been reported as of 9pm local time, per a statement from the County of Los Angeles Department of Medical Examiner.

A new Los Angeles County wildfire ignited and exploded in size in West Hills near homes in the Calabasas and Hidden Hills areas, triggering more mandatory evacuation orders on Thursday.

State of play: The Kenneth Fire quickly spread into Ventura County after starting around 3:30pm in L.A., prompting the NFL to move the L.A. Rams' wild-card playoff game against the Minnesota Vikings to Arizona. A Ventura County fire official told KNBC Thursday evening, "Forward progress of the fire has been stopped and we've contained it to only 960 acres."

Raging wildfires tearing through Los Angeles County have destroyed homes, neighborhoods and iconic landmarks, and killed at least five people.

Why it matters: Some of the most historic structures in the U.S. were completely wiped out.