(NewsNation) — The wildfires burning across Los Angeles could be among the costliest natural disasters in U.S. history.
The blazes — which are ripping through some of the nation’s priciest real estate — are likely to cause between $52 billion and $57 billion in damages and economic loss, according to a preliminary AccuWeather estimate.
“This is already one of the worst wildfires in California history,” AccuWeather Chief Meteorologist Jonathan Porter said in a statement Wednesday.
Some of the worst damage is located in Santa Monica and Malibu, where median home values are over $2 million, AccuWeather said.
“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,” Porter noted.
Home to nearly 10 million people, Los Angeles County is the most populated county in the U.S. and has properties worth more than $2 trillion in total.
Los Angeles fire officials said Thursday that thousands of homes appear to have been damaged or destroyed in the Pacific Palisades fire, the Los Angeles Times reported.
Some of the biggest stars in Hollywood are among those who have lost homes, including Billy Crystal, Mandy Moore and Paris Hilton.
“Heartbroken beyond words,” Hilton wrote in an Instagram post of a news clip. “Sitting with my family, watching the news, and seeing our home in Malibu burn to the ground on live TV is something no one should ever have to experience.”
If AccuWeather’s $52 billion estimate is correct, the Los Angeles fires could rank among the costliest disasters in U.S. history, most of which are hurricanes.
Hurricane Katrina is the most expensive U.S. natural disaster, with an estimated cost of $200 billion, according to data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
A separate estimate from JPMorgan analyst Jimmy Bhullar also pegged total economic losses from the LA fires at close to $50 billion, the Wall Street Journal reported Thursday. That total includes insured losses at more than $20 billion and “even more if the fires are not controlled,” Bhullar said.
Those losses would make the Los Angeles-area infernos the costliest wildfires in U.S. history.
Previously, the Camp Fire in 2018 was the most destructive wildfire in history — causing an estimated $12.5 billion in insured losses, WSJ said. Another estimate put overall losses at $16.5 billion.
AccuWeather’s preliminary estimate includes both insured and uninsured losses, as well as the cost of evacuations and other economic impacts.
But as the fires continue to burn around the Los Angeles area, there’s a good chance the losses will worsen in the days ahead.
At least 180,000 people have been ordered to evacuate and five have died as of Thursday morning.
