LA wildfires to cause significant economic, infrastructure losses

(MENAFN) The destructive wildfires devastating the US state of California for the past week are projected to cause significant costs, demolishing buildings and infrastructure, while disturbing businesses as well.

In California, thousands of houses have been burned to ash, where the average cost of a house is approximately USD780,000 and around USD3 million in the rich Pacific Palisades, which is one of the areas affected by the wildfires erupting since January 7.

AccuWeather projected last week that the damage and financial setbacks in the nations are averaging from USD135 billion to USD150 billion, while the death rate climbed to 24 on Sunday.

“These fast-moving, wind-driven infernos have created one of the costliest wildfire disasters in modern U.S. history,” stated Jonathan Porter, AccuWeather's chief meteorologist.

“Hurricane-force winds sent flames ripping through neighborhoods filled with multi-million-dollar homes,” he further mentioned.

Porter described the scenes of destruction “heartbreaking” and the financial toll “staggering.”

"To put this into perspective, the total damage and economic loss from this wildfire disaster could reach nearly 4 percent of the annual GDP of the state of California," he emphasized.

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