The news is starting to read like the SoCal wildfires are winding down - at least a few of the fires are still going strong, but some of the early major burns are contained or over.

I was asked the other day what I thought this would do to insurance rates for the rest of us, as the insurers spread their losses. More, or less, than Katrina? Well, the average home destroyed in the California fires is probably worth a lot more than the average home destroyed by Katrina, but the concentrated urban buying power effect kicks in with impressive scale. Let's get the numbers from the sick-fascination-with-train-wrecks department: