Insurance costs from the catastrophic Los Angeles wildfires could run at least $20 billion for the disaster, according to estimates by Wells Fargo analysts.
The fires, which started Jan. 7, continued to burn Wednesday as thousands of firefighters have gradually increased their containment.
At least 25 people have died from the wind-driven flames, thousands of homes have been destroyed, and more than 80,000 people remain under evacuation orders.
According to Wells Fargo, insured losses are expected to total approximately $20 billion from the disaster, and total economic losses could be well above $60 billion.
Wells Fargo did not return requests for comment by publication time.
Meanwhile, JP Morgan also estimated $20 billion in insured losses and warned it could potentially rise even higher.
The overall damage and economic loss—including the long-term cost of cleanup, relocation, and rebuilding, as well as health care costs—is estimated to be more than $250 billion and up to $275 billion, according to AccuWeather’s latest report published Monday.
The numbers surpass combined damages and loss for the entire 2020 wildfire season, said the weather forecasting company.
“These fast-moving, wind-driven infernos have created one of the costliest wildfire disasters in modern U.S. history,” AccuWeather’s Chief Meteorologist Jonathan Porter said in a statement Monday.
The combined loss from the fires could surpass damage totals from the deadly Maui wildfires in 2023, which were $13 billion to $16 billion. Numbers have already surpassed the estimates of $225 billion to $250 billion in damages and loss from 2024’s Hurricane Helene, AccuWeather reported.
Hurricane-force winds sent flames ripping through Los Angeles-area neighborhoods filled with multi-million-dollar homes, Porter said.
“The devastation left behind is heartbreaking, and the economic toll is staggering,” he said.
The largest fire, dubbed the Palisades fire, burned in the coastal communities of Pacific Palisades, Santa Monica, and parts of Malibu. The area’s median home values were over $2 million.
If recovery efforts report more homes burned in the coming days, it would make it the worst wildfire in modern California history, according to AccuWeather.
The Palisades fire killed at least nine people, according to the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner. The second fire—called the Eaton fire—burned through neighborhoods in Altadena and Pasadena, about 15 miles east of Los Angeles, killing at least 16 people.
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass issued an executive order Monday to “clear the way for Angelenos to rebuild their homes as quickly as possible,” she posted on X.
“We’re cutting red tape to get Angelenos back home,” she said.
The order will streamline debris removal by combining efforts with the California Office of Emergency Services and other city, county, state, and federal agencies.
The order is also expected to quickly allow permits to be issued and bypass the state’s time-consuming and costly California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) environmental reviews, which can take several years to complete.
The city will also make 1,400 units of housing available to immediately get more Angelenos housed, according to the mayor.
Gov. Gavin Newsom also signed an executive order Sunday that waives CEQA and California Coastal Act requirements for reconstruction along the coast.
The order also extends state law to include consumer protections against price gouging on building materials, storage services, construction, and other essential goods and services to Jan. 7, 2026, in Los Angeles County.
Reuters contributed to this report.
