Analyst announces LA wildfire costs are ‘staggering’
Date
1/18/2025 7:50:21 AM
(MENAFN) The ongoing wildfires ravaging Southern California are expected to cause financial damage between $250 billion and $275 billion, according to an initial assessment from weather data platform AccuWeather. This estimate includes both direct costs, such as rebuilding, relocation, and emergency shelter expenses, as well as indirect costs, such as healthcare for those injured or affected by smoke, lost wages, housing displacement, and impacts on local businesses and tourism.
AccuWeather’s chief meteorologist Jonathan Porter described the economic toll of up to $275 billion as “staggering” and noted that the fires have become one of the costliest wildfire disasters in US history. The full scope of the damage is still unknown, as some areas remain at risk. Porter highlighted that if additional structures are destroyed in the coming days, this could become the worst wildfire disaster in modern California history in terms of the number of buildings lost and the economic impact.
The fires, which have affected areas between Santa Monica and Malibu—home to some of the country’s most expensive real estate—have already claimed at least 25 lives, scorched over 40,000 acres, and destroyed more than 12,000 buildings. The financial losses are expected to surpass those of Hurricane Katrina, the costliest natural disaster in US history, which caused $197.5 billion in damage when adjusted for inflation.
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