Estimated cost of fire damage balloons to more than $250 billion

As raging wildfires continue to torment Southern California, estimates of the total economic loss have ballooned to more than $250 billion, making it one of the most costly natural disasters in U.S. history.

Early estimates by AccuWeather and JP Morgan put the damage in the $50-billion range, but the expected toll quickly rose to more than triple that amount as fires spread through neighborhoods in Altadena, Pacific Palisades and Malibu.

In the last two days, hundreds of weary firefighters have battled multiple fires in the hills around Los Angeles and Ventura counties, including a massive blaze near Castaic, an early morning fire in the Sepulveda Pass that threatened the tony communities of Brentwood and Bel-Air, and another that pushed into Ventura County farmland Thursday morning.

The latest estimate from weather forecasting service AccuWeather puts the total expected damage and economic loss to between $250 billion and $275 billion. That includes the costs of damage, loss of life, healthcare, business disruptions and other economic impacts.

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“These fast-moving, wind-driven infernos have created one of the costliest wildfire disasters in modern U.S. 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 devastation left behind is heartbreaking, and the economic toll is staggering.”

Multiple fires have already scorched thousands of acres in and around Los Angeles, displacing more than 150,000 people who have had to evacuate or lost their homes, and damaging or destroying more than 15,000 structures. The number of confirmed dead is 28.

The Palisades fire burning in an area from Santa Monica to Malibu has swept through some of the most expensive real estate in the country, with median home values over $2 million. It may become the worst wildfire in modern California history based on the number of structures burned and economic loss, Porter said.

Estimated financial costs surpass the damage and economic loss numbers for the entire 2020 wildfire season, which was a very active U.S. wildfire season, Porter said.

According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Hurricane Katrina in 2005 has been the most expensive U.S. natural disaster to date, costing an estimated $200 billion.