At least 29 people are believed to be dead and more than a dozen others remain unaccounted for as multiple wildfires rage across Southern California.

Susan Rubio, a Democrat from Baldwin Park, will refill the vacancy that Senate leaders briefly left open for a few weeks following reports that she was part of an FBI investigation stemming from her time as a member of the Baldwin Park City Council.

The Los Angeles County fires have cast uncertainty over when the insurance crisis buffeting the entire state will ease, California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara told the Chronicle during an interview Saturday in Santa Monica,

California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara said new regulations will keep homeowners insured. Some of the new efforts give insurance companies more leeway in raising rates, while allowing them to use computer modeling to forecast risk and to incorporate their own “reinsurance” costs from backup providers in setting future premiums.

The California insurance commissioner expanded the emergency protections covered by his recent moratorium for Southern California residents affected by wildfires.

California's Fair Plan, the state's insurer of last resort, may be unable to pay billions in claims arising from the Los Angeles fires and may require a bailout that could ultimately be paid by homeowners statewide.

A recent rule change could cause a spike in insurance premium for homeowners across California, as the costs of the Los Angeles area wildfires are passed onto them in a way that was not allowed in the past.

Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara declared the fires in Los Angeles and Ventura counties an emergency situation on Monday to help speed recovery efforts, according to a press release from his

Hubris and humility.

California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara discusses the complex insurance system as homeowners look to rebuild after LA's fires.

A recent moratorium now protects California policyholders from losing home insurance coverage for at least one year if their home is near a site affected by wildfires.

Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara alleged Thursday. In response, Lara issued a bulletin reminding all California insurers that the law requires victims who have suffered total losses to get ...