Forecast for damages in LA fires triples to $150B costliest blaze in US history

The crippling fires tearing through Los Angeles could cause $150 billion in damages – triple the costs initially expected for the most expensive blaze in US history, according to a report.AccuWeather experts revised their estimate of the damages from about $50 billion to between $135 billion and $150 billion as fires continued to rip through some of Los Angeles County’s wealthiest neighborhoods on Friday.“These fast-moving, wind-driven infernos have created one of the costliest wildfire disasters in modern US 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 total economic losses from the LA fires could total nearly 4% of California’s annual GDP, Porter added.The record-breaking damages would make the LA fires the most expensive in US history. The Camp Fire in 2018 was previously the deadliest and most destructive wildfire in California’s history – causing about $16.5 billion in damages. And the 2020 wildfires – which wreaked havoc across California, Oregon, Colorado, Montana, Washington and Wyoming – cost between $130 billion and $150 billion. The cost to California in those fires was $19 billion. California is facing more extreme fire risks early next week as Santa Ana winds are expected to pick up, according to AccuWeather experts.LA officials are still investigating the cause of the wildfires. Celebrities like Paris Hilton, Anna Faris and Leighton Meester and Adam Brody have confirmed their homes were destroyed in the fires.

Small businesses and schools have been burnt to the ground as embers whip through towns and ignite new flames.The destruction of thousands of homes and businesses, infrastructure damage, the long-term cost of rebuilding and relocating, cleanup and recovery costs, emergency shelter expenses and health care costs for people injured or exposed to toxic smoke are piling up into hef...