AccuWeather: Damage from Southern California wildfires estimated at between $135 billion and $150 billion

As fires continue to rage across Southern California and the scope of the damage becomes clearer, AccuWeather has updated and increased its preliminary estimate of the total damage and economic loss to between $135 billion and $150 billion.

“These fast-moving, wind-driven infernos have created one of the costliest wildfire disasters in modern U.S. history,” AccuWeather Chief Meteorologist Jonathan Porter said in a Thursday release. “Hurricane-force winds sent flames ripping through neighborhoods filled with multi-million-dollar homes. The devastation left behind is heartbreaking and the economic toll is staggering. To put this into perspective, the total damage and economic loss from this wildfire disaster could reach nearly 4 percent of the annual GDP of the state of California.”

As fires continue to burn and grow in size and new information is confirmed, coupled with the potential of new fires sparking in the coming days, AccuWeather experts say the estimate for total damage and economic loss may be revised substantially upward.