The L.A. County Wildfires Could Be The Costliest In U.S. History, Early Estimates Say

The wildfires that erupted this week across Los Angeles County are far from contained, but they're already expected to be the costliest in U.S. history and among the worst natural disasters.

LOS ANGELES (AP) — The wildfires that erupted this week across Los Angeles County are still raging, but already are projected to be among the costliest natural disasters in U.S. history.

The devastating blazes have killed at least 11 people and incinerated more than 12,000 structures since Tuesday, laying waste to entire neighborhoods once home to multimillion-dollar properties.

While it’s still too early for an accurate tally of the financial toll, the losses so far likely make the wildfires the costliest ever in the U.S., according to various estimates.

A preliminary estimate by AccuWeather put the damage and economic losses so far between $135 billion and $150 billion. By comparison, AccuWeather estimated the damage and economic losses caused by Hurricane Helene, which tore across six southeastern states last fall, at $225 billion to $250 billion.

“This will be the costliest wildfire in California modern history and also very likely the costliest wildfire in U.S. modern history, because of the fires occurring in the densely populated areas around Los Angeles with some of the highest-valued real estate in the country,” said Jonathan Porter, the private firm’s chief meteorologist.