Flea loses home in LA fires

Red Hot Chili Peppers bassist Flea has lost his home in the latest fires to hit Los Angeles.

The rocker's $5m (€3.3m) French-style mansion was burned down in the wildfires which began on Saturday, the second series of blazes to hit the region in less than a month.

Flea - real name Michael Balzary - confirmed the loss by sending local newspaper the Los Angeles Times a text message saying his home had "burnt to a crisp".

Following the weekend's fires, California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has reactivated the state of emergency he declared last month and vowed to make aid available to those affected by the infernos.