LA County fires, fueled by powerful winds, destroy homes

Tens of thousands of Los Angeles County residents evacuated from at least three blazes whipped up by fierce Santa Ana winds Tuesday: the Palisades Fire along the coast in Pacific Palisades, the Eaton Fire against the San Gabriel Mountains in the northern part of the county, and the Hurst Fire, just south of Santa Clarita.

Flames destroyed homes and also singed the grounds around the Getty Villa, but the museum said on social media that its famed collection of Greek and Roman art and antiquities was undamaged. The Santa Anas are forecast to continue today, with gusts forecast up to 100 miles per hour.

January didn’t used to be considered fire season in California, but climate change has changed that, too.

For a deeper understanding of the state’s increasing flammability, check out this explainer by CalMatters environmental reporter Julie Cart.

And follow the latest with our wildfire data tracker; it’s filled with information about California’s blazes throughout the past century to date, created by data reporters John Osborn D’Agostino and Jeremia Kimelman

Bird flu: CA egg prices likely to remain high

You might have noticed lately that egg prices at your local grocery have gone up — way up. And while it’s likely that prices will go down eventually, experts I spoke to don’t know exactly when that will happen. Currently, wholesale prices for a dozen eggs in California are hovering around $9.

In the last 30 days, the country’s latest bird flu outbreak — now approaching its third year — has affected 19 commercial poultry flocks and more than 4 million birds in California. The virus has spread to cattle and humans, prompting Gov. Gavin Newsom to issue a state of emergency. On Monday the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported the first death in the U.S. due to the virus.

To combat the bird flu from spreading, farms are killing chickens by the millions. But the virus hasn’t “stayed down for very long” since 2022, says Daniel Sumner, a UC Davis professor of agricultural and resource economics. That means customers, grocers and restaurants will continue struggling with high prices as the outbreak endures.

• Sumner: “Why do egg prices spike? Because you and me and everyone else says, ‘I don’t want to make chocolate chip cookies without eggs.’ Even McDonald’s needs to use eggs to make an Egg Mcmuffin.”

In California, most of the outbreak has been concentrated in the Central Valley, but can impact suppliers across the state differently. A combination of retail strategy and luck, says Sumner, is why a carton of eggs could go for $5 at Trader Joe’s down the street and $10 at your local market. 

California eggs are also typically pricier than the national average because they must come from cage-free environments. 

The demand for eggs is unlikely to change anytime soon.

“Something’s got to get us to stop using them because there are fewer of them,” says Sumner. “Maybe you’ll get enough of us to decide we can wait a few weeks to make an omelet.”

For more than 15 years, the nonpartisan Legislative Analyst’s Office has been ringing alarm bells about the state’s unemployment insurance fund. The system, funded by a payroll tax paid by employers, owes $20 billion to the federal government and is often underfunded. But solutions to fix it remain unseen, reports CalMatters’ Levi Sumagaysay, 

In December, the analyst’s office detailed proposals to address the system’s “structural insolvency,” which included increasing the fund’s tax revenue and reducing its losses. It warned that if California experienced another round of mass joblessness again, it would not have enough money to pay unemployment claims and dig deeper into debt.

But some Democratic lawmakers argue the system should provide people more money, citing that its $450 maximum weekly benefit has remained unchanged for two decades.

Meanwhile, business groups agree that the debt needs to be addressed, but are pushing back against requirements to increase their contribution.

Read more here.

When it comes to California’s latest rainy season, consider it a case of the haves and the have nots. 

As CalMatters’ Alastair Bland explains, Northern California has always seen more rain and snow than the southern half, which is semi-arid and dry. But the difference between how wet Northern California has been this season compared to how dry Southern California has been has potentially never been this wide, experts say. 

More rain has fallen in Santa Rosa, for example, than any other city in California: Almost 7 inches fell on Nov. 20 alone, an all-time daily record. But in downtown Los Angeles, which should have received several inches of rain by now, only a fifth of an inch has fallen since July. It’s the second driest period in almost 150 years.

The extreme contrast turns out to be good for the state’s water supply: Northern California is home to major reservoirs that are replenished by rain and snow and provide much of the water used across the state.

Read more here.