 Energy & Environment |
Energy & Environment |
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California wildfire costs could be $52-$57B: analysis |
The total cost of the damage from devastating wildfires scorching Southern California could amount to $52 to $57 billion in economic losses, according to a new analysis. |
© AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill |
The finding from AccuWeather's Global Weather Center includes both direct and indirect impacts of the fires and insured and uninsured losses. The costs stem from property, wages, crops, infrastructure, supply chains, travel and more.
"This is already one of the worst wildfires in California history," Jonathan Porter, AccuWeather chief meteorologist, said in a statement. "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."
To put the preliminary estimate into context, AccuWeather found that total damage and economic losses from Maui's 2023 wildfires were $13 billion to $16 billion.
Many Pacific Palisades residents have said that they have no property insurance because companies are no longer willing to provide such protection in this very expensive and high-risk area, per the report.
If the fires continue spreading rapidly and into densely populated zones, thousands more expensive structures could burn down, the meteorologists noted, warning that the loss estimate could be "revised upward substantially." The Wall Street Journal noted that the fires could be the costliest in U.S. history, with insured losses more than $20 billion. Read more from The Hill's Sharon Udasin. |
Welcome to The Hill's Energy & Environment newsletter, I'm Rachel Frazin — keeping you up to speed on the policies impacting everything from oil and gas to new supply chains. |
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How policy will affect the energy and environment sectors now and in the future: |
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The death toll in the devastating California wildfires has risen to five, as the flames continue to engulf the Los Angeles area. |
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The top Democrat on the Senate's Energy and Natural Resources Committee is objecting to the timing of a hearing for Trump's Energy Secretary pick Chris Wright — saying Republicans are moving ahead with the nomination even though some paperwork, including Wright's financial disclosure, has not yet been received. |
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House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) said Wednesday that lawmakers are prepared to move quickly on emergency disaster relief if necessary for California as the state battles deadly wildfires. |
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Branch out with a different read from The Hill: |
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Asset management firm BlackRock is leaving a climate-focused investing group, the group confirmed. |
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News we've flagged from other outlets touching on energy issues, the environment and other topics: |
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Two key stories on The Hill right now: |
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Former President Bush gave former President Obama a belly tap at the funeral on Thursday for the late President Carter, a moment caught on camera and then shared widely on social media. Read more |
| Former President Carter's funeral service at Washington National Cathedral brought together all five living presidents and current and former officials for an event full of notable interactions. Read more |
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You're all caught up. See you tomorrow! |
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