Forecast for damages triples to $150B — costliest blaze in US history
The crippling fires tearing through Los Angeles could cause $150 billion in damages – triple the costs initially expected for the most expensive blaze in US history, according to a report.
AccuWeather experts revised their estimate of the damages from about $50 billion to between $135 billion and $150 billion as fires continued to rip through some of Los Angeles County’s wealthiest neighborhoods on Friday.
“These fast-moving, wind-driven infernos have created one of the costliest wildfire disasters in modern US history,” AccuWeather Chief Meteorologist Jonathan Porter said in a statement. “Hurricane-force winds sent flames ripping through neighborhoods filled with multi-million-dollar homes.”
The total economic losses from the LA fires could total nearly 4% of California’s annual GDP, Porter added.
The record-breaking damages would make the LA fires the most expensive in US history.
The Camp Fire in 2018 was previously the deadliest and most destructive wildfire in California’s history – causing about $16.5 billion in damages.
And the 2020 wildfires – which wreaked havoc across California, Oregon, Colorado, Montana, Washington and Wyoming – cost between $130 billion and $150 billion.
The cost to California in those fires was $19 billion.
California is facing more extreme fire risks early next week as Santa Ana winds are expected to pick up, according to AccuWeather experts. LA officials are still investigating the cause of the wildfires.
Celebrities like Paris Hilton, Anna Faris and Leighton Meester and Adam Brody have confirmed their homes were destroyed in the fires.
Small businesses and schools have been burnt to the ground as embers whip through towns and ignite new flames.
The destruction of thousands of homes and businesses, infrastructure damage, the long-term cost of rebuilding and relocating, cleanup and recovery costs, emergency shelter expenses and health care costs for people injured or exposed to toxic smoke are piling up into hefty costs, according to AccuWeather.
Housing displacement and lost wages for thousands of people across Southern California whose jobs have been impacted by business closures are also contributing to the damages, experts added.
Any surviving property will likely have suffered fire and water damage, adding to the costs.
“Tragically, lives have been changed forever in just a matter of minutes,” Porter said. “Many families may not be able to afford to rebuild or repair and return. Businesses may not be able to recover and jobs will be permanently lost. Thousands of people are in desperate need of help.”
The devastating fires – which erupted Tuesday in the Palisades area – will likely worsen the state’s insurance crisis.
Major insurance firms have been pulling their plans out of California over the past few years as disastrous fires have grown more common.
In 2023, State Farm said it would no longer accept new applications for homeowners’ insurance due to the risk of catastrophes.
Last year, the company said it would end coverage for 72,000 homes and apartments in the state.
“Our number one priority right now is the safety of our customers, agents and employees impacted by the fires and assisting our customers in the midst of this tragedy,” State Farm told The Post in a statement.
In an October blog post on its website, State Farm said the California insurance crisis is due to increased labor and material costs, worsening wildfire risk and outdated state insurance regulations.
