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Los Angeles Wildfires: A new fire broke out in the Hollywood Hills section of Los Angeles on Wednesday evening
Smoke and flames rise from a burning home, as powerful winds fueling devastating wildfires in the Los Angeles area force people to evacuate. (Photo: Reuters)
Los Angeles Wildfires: Out-of-control wildfires encircled Los Angeles on Wednesday, claiming at least five lives, destroying hundreds of homes, and severely depleting firefighting resources and water supplies.
Over 100,000 people were ordered to evacuate. Hurricane-strength winds complicated firefighting efforts, helping the flames spread since the fires ignited on Tuesday.
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Rather than bringing moisture, the dry winds intensified the blaze, sweeping across drought-stricken land. As the sun set, the two most hazardous fires continued to expand, according to officials.
A new fire broke out in the Hollywood Hills section of Los Angeles on Wednesday evening, Fire Chief Kristin Crowley told a press conference, forcing more evacuations and raising to six the number of wildfires burning in Los Angeles County. All of them were 0% contained according to state officials, including a pair of conflagrations that held the city in a pincer move.
This guy filming the wildfires from his living room in Los Angeles, there is another person and a dogI hope they all made it to safetypic.twitter.com/TKmzBCvbKJ
— Science girl (@gunsnrosesgirl3) January 8, 2025
On the west side, the Palisades Fire consumed 15,832 acres (6,406 hectares) and 1,000 structures in the hills between Santa Monica and Malibu, racing down Topanga Canyon until reaching the Pacific Ocean on Tuesday. It was already one of the most destructive fires in Los Angeles history.
Aerial video by KTLA television showed block after block of smoldering homes in Pacific Palisades, the smoky grid occasionally punctuated by the orange blaze of another home still on fire.
Economic loss estimates top $50 Billion
US private forecaster AccuWeather said on Wednesday that estimated damage and economic loss from the California wildfire, already one of the worst in history, is over $50 billion at a preliminary level.
AccuWeather, which estimates the loss between $52 billion and $57 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.
AccuWeather’s estimates for total damage and economic loss from the 2023 Maui wildfires were between $13 billion and $16 billion.
JP Morgan believes that insured losses originating from the wildfire could be around $10 billion, the brokerage firm said in a note.
“We expect a majority of the losses to be related to homeowners’ coverage and a significantly lesser amount to commercial,” they added.
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.
(With inputs from Reuters)
- Location :
Los Angeles, United States of America (USA)
