10 Dead, 10,000 Structures Burned In Los Angeles Area Inferno As Fire Damage Could Exceed $150 Billion

Fires raging across the Los Angeles area entered their fourth day, killing at least ten people, forcing the evacuation of 180,000 residents, and destroying more than ten thousand structures. Preliminary estimates place damages and economic losses up to $150 billion.

As of Friday morning, five fires are burning across the LA County area. The largest, the Palisades Fire, has scorched 20,000 acres and is considered “one of the most destructive fires in the history of Los Angeles,” according to the LA fire chief on Thursday. Meanwhile, the Eaton Fire has burned 14,000 acres. The newest fires are Kenneth and Hidden Hills, which expanded in the overnight hours.

Summary of the five fires (courtesy of CBS News):

• The Palisades Fire in Los Angeles has killed two people and grown to cover over 31 square miles, likely destroying thousands of structures, according to fire officials. It was 6% contained as of late Thursday night.

• The Eaton Fire, in the hills above Altadena in northern Los Angeles County, has killed three people and burned more than 21 square miles. Between 4,000 and 5,000 structures were believed to have been destroyed or damaged. Cal Fire reported zero percent containment as of Thursday night.

• The Kenneth Fire ignited in the Woodland Hills neighborhood of Los Angeles on Thursday and covered 960 acres with zero percent containment as of Thursday night, according to Cal Fire.

• The Sunset Fire, which erupted Wednesday in Hollywood Hills, prompted a new round of mandatory evacuations and threatened iconic landmarks. By Thursday, all evacuation orders for the fire were lifted and the blaze had been fully contained, according to officials.

• The Hurst and Lidia fires scorched at least 771 acres and 394 acres, respectively, Cal Fire said. The Hurst Fire was 37% contained and the Lidia Fire was 75% contained as of Thursday night.

Fire Map 

About 180,000 LA County residents were under evacuation orders, and nearly 200,000 residents were under evacuation warnings, the county’s Office of Emergency Management stated. In the mandatory evacuation areas, 60,120 structures were at high fire risk, while 61,288 structures were at moderate risk in areas affected by evacuation warnings.

Over 10,000 structures, including homes, businesses, and smaller buildings such as RVs and sheds, have been destroyed this week in the out-of-control blazes. 

Before-and-after satellite images from Maxar Technologies show the devastating impacts of the fires. Entire neighborhoods were burned to the ground. 

Before/After 

Other apocalyptic scenes:

Here’s a current look at the Palisades Fire as it continues to burn in the Santa Monica Mountains pic.twitter.com/UrQKT7h9H8

— Chris Cristi (@abc7chriscristi) January 10, 2025

Before and After of a Starbucks in Pacific Palisades pic.twitter.com/tEtV4pUX4w

— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) January 10, 2025

BREAKING: New drone footage shows the complete devastation and destruction from the Pacific Palisades Fire in California. pic.twitter.com/3kWbQy5o1x

— The General (@GeneralMCNews) January 9, 2025

“I just feel numb right now… Everybody we know lost their homes.”

The Free Press’s Austyn Jeffs speaks with residents of Pacific Palisades in Los Angeles, a community “absolutely decimated” by the fires. pic.twitter.com/IecGdQ1eB4

— The Free Press (@TheFP) January 10, 2025

The National Weather Service extended a red flag warning until late Friday evening for much of LA and Ventura counties. High winds this week have been one of the main drivers of spreading the flames. 

While corporate leftist media blames ‘climate change’ for the wildfires, there is reason to believe that epic mismanagement by LA Mayor Karen Bass and Gov. Gavin Newsom contributed to the fire disaster. 

Then there’s this…

BREAKING: The Victory Trailhead in Los Angeles is now a crime scene with one person in custody as the Kenneth Fire spirals out of control, according to NewsNation.

The suspect is believed to have started the fire that has swelled to nearly 1000 acres.

“[LAPD] believes that… pic.twitter.com/T2gNZOhSCV

— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) January 10, 2025

More reports of arson:

Arson Threats A “Major Issue” In Wildfire-Ravaged Los Angeles County https://t.co/T1MhhHcEsF

— zerohedge (@zerohedge) January 9, 2025

Reports of criminal gangs targeting mansions…

#BREAKING: HUNDREDS OF LOOTERS INVADE NEIGHBORHOOD

“Cars pull up, doors open, and groups of men running up our street going up to the doors of these houses.”

“There were 100 people came up on scooters and were trying to get into any and all houses.”

REPORTER: “Did you… pic.twitter.com/0ckGivHbpy

— HustleBitch (@HustleBitch_) January 9, 2025

The latest AccuWeather estimate for the total damage and economic loss in LA County has surged to a staggering $135 billion to $150 billion, a massive increase from Wednesday’s estimate of $52 billion to $57 billion.

AccuWeather has increased the preliminary estimate for the total damage and economic loss for the Southern #California #wildfires to a staggering $135 billion to $150 billion.#AccuWeather meteorologists say more gusty winds and an elevated #fire risk are expected next week. pic.twitter.com/6N3DJWSFlg

— Bill Wadell (@BillWadell) January 9, 2025

Meanwhile, the insurance industry is also bracing for a significant hit, with JP Morgan analysts forecasting insured losses …

“Expectations of economic losses stemming from the fires have more than doubled since yesterday to closer to $50 billion, and we estimate that insured losses from the event could exceed $20 billion (and even more if the fires are not controlled).

“This would make this event significantly more severe than the 2018 Butte County Camp fires, the highest insured loss wildfires in California’s history previously (with insured losses of roughly $10 billion). Insured losses in the Butte Camp fire were close to two-thirds of economic losses (about $15 billion). That event impacted over 150,000 acres and affected over 18,000 houses/buildings.

“While the current wildfires haven’t affected as much acreage or as many houses/buildings (thus far), more of the damage is concentrated in the affluent Pacific Palisades area, which has high value residential homes (median home price >$3 million versus

Catosphere bond news website Artemis noted, “We are still a long way off any loss estimates based on actual damage information, given the still-unfolding disaster situation in Los Angeles County.”

What an epic disaster for Democrats, who can no longer hide behind climate change to deflect from their mismanagement and horrendous policies. The pain endured by folks who lost everything, as comedian Adam Carolla suggests, could turn some of Hollywood’s wokest and leftist elites into Republicans – well, at least in local elections.

And it begins. 

Today’s cover: Celebrities turn on Dems, blast LA mayor for fire response: ‘Ruined our state’ https://t.co/dCXJI7ZWqt pic.twitter.com/6HCe9HTVgb

— New York Post (@nypost) January 10, 2025

*Developing