Building loss and destruction. Photo Credit Facebook Los Angeles County Fire Department
JANUARY 14 marks a week since the beginning of the Los Angeles wildfires.
Three of them are still raging on and as the community comes to terms with the loss of 24 lives those affected are becoming aware of the sheer magnitude of the destruction the wildfires have caused.
Initial estimations from AccuWeather have placed the potential total economic damage from the Los Angeles Wildfires at between $135 and $150 billion.
AccuWeather have taken direct costs like building and infrastructure losses and indirect costs like the economic losses from power outages linked into account to provide a comprehensive picture of the economic devastation the fires have caused and will cause.
“These fast-moving, wind-driven infernos have created one of the costliest wildfire disasters in modern U.S. history,” AccuWeather Chief Meteorologist Jonathan Porter has said.
He continued “Hurricane-force winds sent flames ripping through neighbourhoods filled with multi-million-dollar homes. The devastation left behind is heart-breaking and the economic toll is staggering.”
The only way to truly measure the economic impact of the 2025 Los Angeles wildfires is to put them into the context of other recent natural disasters.
According to AccuWeather the LA fires are the fourth costliest natural disaster in recent history, falling just short of 2024’s Hurricane Milton which was expected to cost between $160 billion and $180 billion.
Worryingly, there is a very real danger of more damage occurring with strong winds still playing a role in stoking the flames. Over 80,000 evacuation orders are still in place and so are Particularly Dangerous Situation (PDS) Red Flag Warnings.
Keep updated on the Los Angeles Wildfire situation here.
