Report: Real estate losses from the Palisades, Eaton wildfires could top $30 billion

Real estate losses from the devastating Palisades and Eaton wildfires could exceed $30 billion, according to a new analysis by the Los Angeles Times.

The newspaper compared estimated property values from the Los Angeles County Assessor with Cal Fire’s assessments of structures that were damaged or destroyed in the January fires. 

56% of all structures in the Pacific Palisades were leveled in the Palisades Fire, and nearly half of properties in Altadena were destroyed in the Eaton Fire, the data shows. This included hundreds of commercial buildings, but the vast majority of structures lost were homes.

“In all, just under 13,000 households were displaced by the two fires. They came from nearly 9,700 single-family homes and condominiums, almost 700 apartment units, more than 2,000 units of duplexes and bungalow courts and 373 mobile homes that Cal Fire determined were either destroyed or heavily damaged,” the Times reported.

Property losses amount to $22 billion in the Palisades and $7.8 billion in Altadena, the analysis found.

AccuWeather estimates the total damage and economic loss from the Palisades and Eaton wildfires range between $250 billion and $275 billion. This figure includes not only direct damage to property but also the costs of cleanup, infrastructure repair, temporary housing, and lost business and employment.

The fires, which erupted during a Santa Ana windstorm on Jan. 7, burned nearly 38,000 acres and claimed 27 lives.

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