The wildfires devastating communities across the Los Angeles areas could end up being the worst fire event in terms of cost in state history, according to an estimate released Wednesday.
According to figures compiled by AccuWeather, the various fires in the area are expected to result in total damage and economic loss totaling between $52 billion and $57 billion.
“This is already one of the worst wildfires in California history,” AccuWeather Chief Meteorologist Jonathan Porter said in a statement. “Should a large number of additional structures be burned in the coming days, it may become the worst wildfire in modern California history based on the number of structures burned and economic loss.”
Porter added, “This is a terrible disaster. We’re just starting to get a clear look at the magnitude of the destruction and loss.”
According to AccuWeather, the damage caused by the 2018 Camp Fire was $16.5 billion. The 2023 wildfires in Maui saw damages of $13 billion to $16 billion.
The AccuWeather estimate is based on an evaluation of direct and indirect impacts, including both insured and uninsured losses.
“It is based on a variety of sources, statistics and unique techniques to estimate the damage to property, job and wage losses, crops, infrastructure damage, interruption of the supply chain, auxiliary business losses and flight delays or cancellations,” according to the organization.