January 2025 LA Fires Hit $65 Billion, Most Expensive Fire In American History (Bonus - It Happaned During Rainy Season)

Until this year, the 2018 Camp Fire stood as not only the deadliest wildfire in California history but also the nation's costliest: $13 billion in economic losses, adjusted for inflation. A new report says each of the two major wildfires that devastated parts of Los Angeles County in January cost more than twice as much, adding up to $65 billion in losses.

The Palisades ($37 billion) and Eaton ($28 billion) fires also became the most expensive wildfire events ever for the reinsurance industry, causing $40 billion total in covered damage, according to the report by Gallagher Re, a global firm that provides insurance to insurers.

“(We’re) talking about two of the most expensive fires ever recorded globally,’’ said Steve Bowen, chief science officer for Gallagher Re, underscoring the rarity of such twin calamities occurring well into California’s traditional rainy period. “We’re facing a new reality regarding the seasonality of wildfires,’’ he said.

The concurrent blazes killed 30 people and destroyed more than 16,200 buildings – compared with 85 and 18,800 for the Camp inferno, which wiped out the Northern California town of Paradise.

EDIT

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2025/07/22/cost-la-fires-65-billion/85310181007/