Los Angeles wildfires may be among costliest in US history

By Gokhan Ergocun

ISTANBUL (AA) - The devastating wildfires ravaging the US state of California for the last seven days are expected to result in historic costs, destroying buildings and infrastructure, while also disrupting businesses.

Thousands of dwellings have been reduced to ash in California, where the average house price is around $780,000 and about $3 million in the affluent Pacific Palisades, one of the neighborhoods hit by the wildfires raging since Jan. 7.

Last week, AccuWeather estimated that the damage and economic losses in the county are between $135 billion and $150 billion, while the death toll reached 24 as of Sunday.

“These fast-moving, wind-driven infernos have created one of the costliest wildfire disasters in modern U.S. history,” said Jonathan Porter, AccuWeather's chief meteorologist.

“Hurricane-force winds sent flames ripping through neighborhoods filled with multi-million-dollar homes,” he added.

Porter called the scenes of devastation “heartbreaking” and the economic toll “staggering.”

"To put this into perspective, the total damage and economic loss from this wildfire disaster could reach nearly 4 percent of the annual GDP of the state of California," he stressed.