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Two people ride bicycles amid the destruction left behind by the Palisades Fire in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles
Two people ride bicycles amid the destruction left behind by the Palisades Fire in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles, Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
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Raging, out-of-control wildfires sadly have scorched tens of thousands of acres in Southern California, while forcing 180,000-plus residents to evacuate.

But when the winds die down and the flames are extinguished, affected residents will face their next hurdle: navigating California’s already fragile home-insurance market.

South Floridians, take note. While our natural disasters come in the form of hurricanes, our insurance industry also is shaky. Insurers have left Florida because of the risk, leaving homeowners with dwindling coverage and rates that are among the nation’s highest.

The Wall Street Journal recently reported that 25% of South Florida borrowers spend more than half of their monthly mortgage payments on taxes and insurance. Plus, the ֱ reports that premiums are on the rise.

As my heart goes out to those affected by the fires in California, I wonder how our community — underpinned by a similarly rickety insurance industry — could survive the financial burden of a huge hurricane.

Chad Van Horn, Fort Lauderdale

Politicizing a disaster

It is wrong to ֱ hate and politicize a natural disaster.

The strong Santa Ana winds and extremely dry conditions fueled uncontrollable, devastating wildfires in Southern California.

Unfortunately, this catastrophe was immediately exploited by the incoming president and by some right-wing pundits for political reasons with the sole purpose of fueling and ֱing hate and rage.

How sad. Instead of calling this event what it was — a natural disaster fueled by climate change — some decided that it was okay to use this tragedy to fuel our worst instincts, blaming California Gov. Gavin Newsom and the Los Angeles fire chief, Kristin Crowley.

This fire is a shockingly sad event for both Democrats and Republicans, and it should not be exploited for political advantage. It must be a time when we come together to help those in need.

So do what you can to help, and be wary of those sharing information with the intent of dividing us rather than bringing us together.

Rosemary Blumberg, Plantation

DeSantis and disasters

Instead of criticizing Gov. Ron DeSantis, California’s governor, Gavin Newsom, could take a few tips from him on how to prepare his state for a disaster and to keep citizens safe.

Even President Biden commended DeSantis for doing a great job preparing for Hurricane Milton which came right on the heels of Hurricane Helene.

When it comes to common sense, strength and leadership, DeSantis stands heads above the other 49 governors.

JoAnn Lee Frank, Clearwater

On the tracks, human factors

The investigation of the Delray Beach fire truck that was struck by the Brightline train needs to consider the human factors involved and to take forward-looking measures to mitigate those factors.

Providing emergency vehicle drivers with a means of contacting railroad dispatchers when stopped by a freight train would open lines of communication that could prevent this from occurring in the future, instead of assuming that this would only be repeated by someone with a poor driving record.

Aaron Alexander, Lusby, Md. 


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