Billions in losses — where will wildfires rank among California’s costliest disasters?
The fires, which killed 42 people, figures to rank alongside the 1991 Oakland Hills Fire as the state's costliest blaze. When adjusted for price inflation, the
Preliminary estimates for the latest wildfires vary widely. Gov.
"These numbers are just the beginning of the story as one of the deadliest and costliest wildfire catastrophes in
One thing is fairly clear. The latest fires are unlikely to eclipse the state's costliest disaster, the 1994 Northridge earthquake. When adjusted for inflation, the quake caused damages estimated at
The 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake caused
Why are earthquakes generally so much costlier than fires? Partly because of the damage major earthquakes can cause to freeways and other public infrastructure.
There's also the issue of geography.
Hackett said getting an accurate reading of the financial cost of the latest wildfires will take some time. "It's still early and there are still some wildfires burning," he said.
RMS said its estimate of
The RMS estimate also doesn't include the fires in
Some of the economic damage could be difficult to calculate. The wine country fires have temporarily crippled
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