Wildfires devastate Los Angeles

Summary

How will the fires impact the Los Angeles economy?

Historic wildfires continue to devastate Los Angeles. In addition to a growing count of fatalities, the fires have forced evacuations and destroyed thousands of properties. The economic damages of the Palisades, Eaton and Hughes fires will take years to be fully tallied. However, initial estimates rank the fires as one of the costliest natural disasters in the nation's history. The wildfires are certain to have a substantial impact of the Los Angeles real estate market. Approximately 16,000 residential and commercial structures lie within the perimeters of the fires. The months ahead are highly uncertain, yet the fallout from the wildfires is likely to reverberate through the Los Angeles economy for years to come.

Fires latest challenge for the city of Angels

Historic wildfires continue to devastate Los Angeles. On the night of January 7th, fires broke out in the Pacific Palisades, an area which sits in the foothills of the Santa Monica Mountains on the Westside of Los Angeles. The combination of strong winds and dry conditions caused the fires to advance rapidly, soon spreading to Malibu, Brentwood and Topanga. In addition to a growing count of fatalities, the fires forced evacuations and destroyed thousands of properties. Unfortunately, the Palisades fire was just the beginning. Fires in Eaton Canyon caused similar upheaval for the Altadena section of Pasadena, and most recently, the Hughes fire spurred evacuations in northern Los Angeles.

Wildfires are not entirely unusual for the state of California. The state has endured thousands of major fires over the course of its history. Aside from burned acreage, most have brought relatively little harm since they have occurred in sparsely populated areas. Recently, however, several wildfires have caused immense destruction. In 2018, the Camp fire in Northern California burned over 153,000 acres, damaged approximately 18,800 structures and resulted in 85 deaths, making it the most destructive wildfire in California's history. The greater Los Angeles region has not been immune. The Bel Air/Brentwood fire of 1961, Old Topanga and Kinneloa fires in 1993 and Sayre fire in 2008 each destroyed hundreds of structures and resulted in substantial monetary damages.

Download the Full Report!