LA fires could cost more than $250 billion, estimate says
LOS ANGELES - Multiple wildfires have burned nearly 40,000 acres over the last week, with dangerous Santa Ana winds expected to complicate the firefight this week.
At least two dozen people have been killed in the fires, according to the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner's Office, and officials estimate that between the Palisades and Eaton fires, more than 12,000 structures have been either damaged or destroyed.
A new analysis from AccuWeather estimates that the fires burning across Southern California may cost between $250 and $275 billion — nearly twice its initial estimate.
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Those new numbers would mean these fires would cost more than the entire 2020 wildfire season in California and more than last fall's Hurricane Helene, which is estimated to cost between $225 and $250 billion.
NOAA's National Centers for Environmental Information has tracked the costliest natural disasters across the United States since 1980. According to their estimates, the costliest wildfires in U.S. history were those in California in 2018, which included the Mendocino Complex Fire, the Camp Fire and the Woolsey Fire. Combined, those fires cost an estimated $30 billion, adjusted for inflation.
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With this year's fires, though, officials say it's still too early to say for certain how accurate AccuWeather's estimates will be.
"Economic loss estimates are often not reliable for several months to years after a major disaster due to the time it takes to receive, process and verify insurance claims in a complex post-disaster environment," NOAA explained.