Harrowing photos emerge following apocalyptic wildfires in Southern California
Homes burned to the ground and entire neighborhoods are unrecognizable in the wake of the wind-driven infernos that erupted in Southern California. AccuWeather estimates the fires caused more than $135 billion in damage.
The damage and economic losses in Southern California over just a few days will rival the total economic impact of the entire 2020 western wildfire season, according to AccuWeather experts.
Massive wildfires continue to spread in the Los Angeles area amid extreme winds, including the Palisades Fire, which has exploded to nearly 20,000 acres, and the Eaton Fire, which has scorched over 13,000 acres. At least ten people have died, and many more have been seriously injured due to the fast-moving, wind-driven infernos.
The first devastating images have emerged, showing the apocalyptic destruction of neighborhoods that flames left unrecognizable. Entire homes were burned to the ground while vehicles melted on roads and driveways.
As of Friday morning, the Palisades Fire was 8% contained, the Eaton Fire was 3% contained, and the Kenneth Fire was 35% contained, according to CAL FIRE.
AccuWeather releases preliminary estimate for damage and economic loss due to California wildfires
The Palisades Fire has destroyed at least 1,000 structures making it the most destructive ever in Los Angeles County, according to Cal Fire. It’s also the most destructive fire in state history to occur in the month of January, CNN reported.
As fires continue to rage across Southern California and the scope of catastrophic damage, loss of life, business disruptions and other economic impacts become clearer, AccuWeather has updated and increased its preliminary estimate of the total damage and economic loss to between $135 billion and $150 billion.
“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. “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. 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.”
AccuWeather’s damage estimate incorporates independent methods to evaluate direct and indirect impacts of the storm, and includes 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.
To put this wildfire event into context, the AccuWeather estimate for the total damage and economic loss from the wildfires in Maui in 2023 was $13-$16 billion. The estimate for the wildfires in the western United States in 2020 was $130-$150 billion and in 2021 was $70-$90 billion. More recently, the hurricanes that impacted the United States included Milton causing $160-180 billion and Helene causing $225-$250 billion and the 2024 hurricane season as a whole reaching nearly a half-trillion dollars.
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