California to again protect insurance policies in fire areas

FORESTHILL, Calif. (AP) — California has temporarily banned insurance companies from dropping customers in areas affected by recent wildfires, a day after evacuation orders were lifted for residents near a two-week-old blaze. Several days of rain helped firefighters reach 60% containment on the Mosquito Fire in foothills about 110 miles northeast of San Francisco. California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara invoked a law aimed at protecting homeowners in the wildfire-plagued state who say they are being pushed out of the commercial insurance market. Lara ordered insurers to preserve residential insurance for one year for Californians who live near one of major wildfires that have burned across the state.