The latest on the LA fires.

From Marketplace, I'm Sabri Beneshore in for David Brancaccio.

Los Angeles is starting the week with the prospect of strengthening winds and increasing fire danger,

even as firefighters continue to battle flames that have already destroyed so many communities.

24 people have died.

That number has been rising and could continue to rise.

We're also getting new information on the number of homes destroyed,

new estimates on the likely economic costs,

and new policies to help with the eventual rebuilding.

Marketplaces, Nova Sappho has the details.

In Los Angeles, 62 square miles, an area larger than all of San Francisco, has already

burned. Inspectors have fanned out into neighborhoods to survey the destruction. Their task is

urgent because it helps move the insurance claims process along. Meanwhile, California Governor

Gavin Newsom over the weekend issued an executive order

suspending certain permitting requirements to speed up reconstruction when the time comes.

Newsom spoke on NBC's Meet the Press. We've got to let people know. We have their back. We're going to be

back. We're going to do it efficiently and effectively because we want you to come back, rebuild,

and rebuild with higher quality building

standards, more modern standards. We want to make sure that the associated costs with that are not

disproportionate. To that end, Newsom extended price gouging protections on things like construction

and building materials and tasked state agencies with finding more ways to speed up permitting.

Of the two largest fires, officials now estimate that some 12,000 structures, homes and businesses,

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