As multiple ferocious wildfires continued raging in and around Los Angeles, analysts have started to tally the preliminary economic damages from the historic natural disaster. Most recent estimates put the total loss at upward of $150 billion—but even in the best-case scenario, only a fraction of that would be covered by insurance.
The catastrophic fires could not have come at a worse time, with California already in the throes of a home insurance crisis after several major carriers stopped writing new policies in the state over growing wildfire risks.
Whipped up by hurricane-force winds, the blazes tearing through some of the most expensive and star-studded residential enclaves of L.A.—including Pacific Palisades, Malibu, and the Hollywood Hills—have already scorched more than 10,000 structures, caused at least 10 deaths, and left 180,000 under evacuation orders, as of Thursday night.
Late Thursday, AccuWeather said that the estimated economic loss to Southern California resulting from the wildfires would be between $135 billion and $150 billion, up from its initial estimate of $52 billion to $57 billion. It could go even higher depending on how quickly the overwhelmed firefighters could bring the infernos under control.
"This is already one of the worst wildfires in California history. 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,” AccuWeather Chief Meteorologist Jonathan Porter said.
For comparison, AccuWeather estimated the total damage and economic loss from the deadly 2023 Maui wildfires at $13 billion to $16 billion.