Los Angeles wildfire economic loss estimates top $150 bln

LOS ANGELES: U.S. private forecaster AccuWeather said that estimated damage and economic loss from the California wildfire, already one of the worst in history, is over $150 billion at a preliminary level.

Raging wildfires in Los Angeles killed several people, destroyed hundreds of buildings and stretched firefighting resources and water supplies since they began on Tuesday, with fierce winds hindering firefighting operations and fueling the fires.

AccuWeather, which estimates the loss between $135 billion and $150 billion, added that if the fire spread to densely populated neighborhoods the current estimates for loss would have to be revised upward.

“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,” AccuWeather Chief Meteorologist Jonathan Porter said.

Read More: Los Angeles wildfires trigger air quality warnings, health concerns

Property consultant CoreLogic estimates that there are over 456,000 homes, with nearly $300 billion in reconstruction value, at moderate or greater risk within the Los Angeles and Riverside metropolitan areas.

However, this number represents the areas at risk in general and not linked to the ongoing fire event.

A HOVERING HAZE

Fanned by fierce winds and fueled by vegetation bone-dry after a long period of little or no rain, the Los Angeles fires broke out on Tuesday and have relentlessly burned more than 34,000 acres (13,760 hectares), or some 53 square miles (137 sq km). Neighborhoods have turned to ash in some parts of Los Angeles.

Wildfire smoke typically carries with it noxious gases and particulate matter that make it more toxic than normal air pollution. Not only do wildfires burn plants, brush and trees, but also buildings, houses and cars that contain plastics, fuels, metals and a host of chemicals.

Studies have linked wildfire smoke with higher rates of heart attacks, strokes, and cardiac arrests as well as weakened immune defenses.

Environmental health scientists and doctors warned that particulate matter posed a hazard to people with preexisting lung and heart conditions as well as the elderly and children.

Carlos Gould, an environmental health scientist at the University of California San Diego, said the concentration of fine particulate matter in the Los Angeles area reached alarming levels between 40 and 100 micrograms per cubic meter earlier in the week before declining to around 20 on Friday.