January 16, 2025 | 11:55 am
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The State of California, United States (US) is struggling to extinguish the forest fires in Los Angeles that have occurred since Tuesday, January 7, 2025. Until now, firefighters are still struggling to extinguish two hotspots. The Los Angeles wildfires have been burning for seven consecutive days.
Officers are taking advantage of the short break in these dangerous conditions before strong winds are expected to fan the flames again.
So, how much area has been burned and what is the total loss due to the massive Los Angeles wildfire?
Quoted from Antara, the Los Angeles wildfires were triggered by a combination of extreme hot weather and prolonged drought. In addition to extreme drought, the Santa Ana winds blowing at speeds of 90-112 km/hour were also a major factor in the fire. These strong winds spread quickly, burning 200 hectares in a matter of hours and growing to almost 3,000 hectares at night.
This condition caused the fire to spread rapidly and created a blaze that was difficult to control. The wildfire not only destroyed thousands of hectares of land, but also had a significant impact on the environment, public health, and daily activities.
Los Angeles Wildfire Sizes
1. Palisades
The Palisades Fire broke out on Tuesday, January 7, 2025. It has so far burned more than 50,000 acres, including homes and businesses in the Pacific Palisades and along the Pacific Coast Highway. The fire is 13 percent contained. The fire has forced the evacuation of about 30,000 people. The fire is burning in major areas of Santa Monica and Malibu.
2. Eaton
The Eaton Fire also broke out on January 7, 2025. The fire has burned more than 30,000 acres. It is currently 27 percent contained.
3. Hurst
The Hurst Fire also started on January 7, 2025. It has burned more than 1,700 acres and is 89 percent contained.
4. Lidia
The Lidia Fire broke out on January 8, 2025. The fire has burned 395 hectares, but is now 100 percent contained.
5. Kenneth
The Kenneth Fire started on January 9, 2025, and has burned 1,052 hectares. However, the fire is now fully contained.
6. Sunset
The Hollywood Hills area, known for its historic area and iconic landmarks, was also affected. The fire here broke out on January 8, 2025, and the fire was successfully contained on January 9, 2025. The fire burned 43 hectares.
Twenty-four people have been found dead as a result of this incident. Around 150,000 people are still under evacuation orders, down from 180,000, while another 87,000 are facing evacuation warnings. More than 10,000 buildings have been reported damaged or destroyed.
Los Angeles Fire Losses
Los Angeles wildfires are estimated to cause losses of up to thousands of trillions of rupiah. US weather forecaster AccuWeather estimates damage and economic losses to reach US$135 billion to US$150 billion or equivalent to Rp2,200 trillion to Rp2,447 trillion.
"It will take weeks or months to determine the extent of insured damage, but the Los Angeles wildfires are likely to be among the most costly wildfires in the state's history," said Moody's Ratings.
Raymond James estimates insured losses to range from US$11 billion to US$17.5 billion. He said the disaster could be the most costly wildfire in US history.
"The largest primary insurers in the US have significantly reduced exposure to California due to the expensive and unquantifiable wildfire risk, combined with the state's tight pricing controls," wrote analysts at Jefferies in a note.
Karunia Putri, Dewi Rina Cahyani, and Ida Rosdalina contributed to the writing of this article.
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