As firefighters gain more control over what have become the most destructive wildfires in U.S. history in a matter of days, the scale of the destruction and losses is becoming clearer.
Despite the cacophony of a world stage that includes two wars and political turmoil abroad, and a change of U.S. leadership in days, the news has been dominated by the fires that raged around Los Angeles and will cost billions of dollars—destroying 10,000 homes and forcing nearly 200,000 evacuations.
There are almost too many stories to read and too much information out there, so we’ve compiled a rundown of the important news and information to know about the fires.
Total Losses
Estimates for total losses from the fires rose nearly threefold in a day.
AccuWeather on Thursday updated and increased its preliminary estimate of the total damage and economic loss to between $135 billion and $150 billion. AccuWeather on Wednesday had issued a preliminary estimate for the total damage and economic loss that ranged from $52 to $57 billion.
“These fast-moving, wind-driven infernos have created one of the costliest wildfire disasters in modern U.S. history,” AccuWeather Chief Meteorologist Jonathan Porter stated. “Hurricane-force winds sent flames ripping through neighborhoods filled with multi-million-dollar homes. The devastation left behind is heartbreaking and the economic toll is staggering.”
AccuWeather said the estimate for total damage and economic loss may be revised upward, “perhaps even substantially.”
Insured Losses
Insured loss estimates currently ranged from $8 to $20 billion into late Thursday, but that was when the number of homes believed to have been lost in the fires so far were in the low thousands.
Reports are now that more than 10,000 homes have been lost in the fires. J.P. Morgan doubled its forecast of insured losses to more than $20 billion, while Wells Fargo also expects similar insured losses. Wells Fargo said the total economic hit from the disaster could be well above $60 billion, Reuters is reporting.
Modelers like Karen Clark & Company and CoreLogic are expected to produce estimated losses soon, so we’ll have that news when it arrives.
Reinsurance
Re/Insurance losses from the wildfires are expected to be significant but manageable, according to S&P Global Ratings.
S&P issued preliminary estimates ranging from $10 billion to $15 billion. The firm said wildfire losses could “rapidly deplete the catastrophe budgets of U.S. primary insurers,” leading to earnings pressure later in the year.
“Although expected losses are steep, we believe many of our rated insurers have the capital resilience to absorb them, after strong results in the first nine months of 2024 (and likely for the year),” S&P stated.
Fires
There were six quick-growing fires threatening properties and people around the area at one point. Here’s a CalFire has a rundown on the fires:
The biggest fire is Palisades Fire north of Los Angeles. It has grown to cover nearly 20,437 acres. It is 8% contained.
The Eaton Fire in Altadena has burned more than 13,690 acres and is 3% contained.
The Kenneth Fire in Los Angeles and Ventura Counties is 1,000 acres and it’s 35% contained. The Hurst Fire north of San Fernando has burned 771 acres and is 37% contained. The Lidia Fire in the Canyons near Acton is 395 acres and it is 75% contained.
The Sunset Fire, which broke out Wednesday evening in Hollywood Hills, triggering evacuation orders and threatening local landmarks, grew to 50 acres before being fully contained on Thursday evening.
Weather
Hurricane-force winds drove the fires to grow too quickly to contain. Wind conditions in the region known as the Santa Ana winds produced wind speeds of more than 80 mph.
Critical fire weather conditions continued across Southern California in the morning on Friday, while winds were expected to begin to taper off in the afternoon and into Saturday, according to the National Weather Service.
An NWS outlook calls for northeast winds of around 5 mph turning to south-southwest winds in the afternoon. North-northeast winds from 5-10 mph are expected on Sunday, with gusts as high as 15 mph.
Dave Houk, a senior forecaster and Western U.S. expert for AccuWeather, said to expect “rounds of winds, dry fuels and low relative humidity will continue to keep the risk of new fire starts and rapid spread, while also causing unfavorable for battling the ongoing fires.”
He said that following some easing on Sunday night, the winds will pick up out of the northeast quickly on Monday with more of an easterly component possible for the offshore winds.
The winds will be strongest in Ventura and northern L.A. counties, and what look to be 40 mph to 60 mph gusts at times on Monday through Tuesday, which may not start to ease until Wednesday morning, according to Houk.
Southern California Edison
Southern California Edison is getting notices from insurers to preserve evidence related to the Eaton Fire. Fire agencies haven’t pointed the utility’s connection to the fire, but the utility is often connected to wildfires.
SCE and a growing number of utilities have been found liable for a number of fires and have lost numerous costly lawsuits as a result, so they are resorting to the extreme measure of preemptively cutting electricity during dangerous fire conditions.
The group, a unit of U.S. utility Edison International, said its filing to regulators was triggered by online publications that “seemingly suggest” the group’s equipment may have been associated with the fire’s ignition.
“To date, no fire agency has suggested that SCE’s electric facilities were involved in the ignition or requested the removal and retention of any SCE equipment,” the company stated.
Glitch
An emergency alert that when out to millions of residents L.A. residents, including those not directly impacted by the fires, caused a stir.
They received the notification reading:
“An EVACUATION WARNING has been issued in your area. Remain vigilant of any threats and be ready to evacuate. Gather loved ones, pets, and supplies. Continue to monitor local weather, news, and the webpage alertla.org for more information.”
Phones alarms were triggered in communities like Long Beach, Newport Beach, Rancho Palos Verdes and Torrance.
That message was quickly retracted with another alert.
Kevin McGowan, head of the L.A. Office of Emergency Management, apologized for the false alarm during a news conference, and said they were not sent by an individual.
He also asked people not to disable the alert messages on their phones.
Moratorium
Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara issued a one-year moratorium on insurance non-renewals and cancellations.
The order shields those within the perimeters or adjoining ZIP Codes of the Palisades and Eaton fires regardless of whether they suffered a loss.
Lara issues moratoriums regularly after destructive wildfires. His last moratorium was to preserve residential insurance coverage for more than 200,000 policyholders affected by the Mountain Fire, which destroyed 243 structures.
Top photo: The Palisades Fire started in the Los Angeles area on Jan 7, 2025. Source: CalFire.