This report was originally published by Tyler Durden at Zero Hedge
Update: PG&E and Edison stock prices are crashing as analysts warn that the potential wildfire costs could soar…
Some 149,000 Californians are effectively homeless after fleeing from the Camp, Woolsey and Hill fires, which have afflicted Butte County, as well as Ventura and LA counties and destroyed more than 6,700 homes and buildings, with thousands more expected to burn. And as the death toll hits 31, putting this round of wildfires on track to become the deadliest in the state’s history as more than 200 people remain missing, a picture of the total damages that have been wrought by the fires is beginning to emerge. According to Bloomberg, the state, insurers and homeowners could be on the hook for a combined $19 billion in damages.
Though that is a staggering sum, at least one analyst believes it’s a conservative estimate. To put it in context, Hurricane Harvey caused more than $100 billion in total economic devastation when it slammed Houston last year. Though the total sum could be on par with Hurricane Michael, which slammed the Florida panhandle and parts of the southeastern US last month.
“The California fires are as bad as folks think they are,” said Chuck Watson, a disaster modeler at Enki Research. He pegged the possible damages of about $25 billion once the fires have been put out and the total damage can be assessed. Insurance for fire-related damages is already becoming an issue.
Some 8,000 local, state and federal firefighters have arrived to battle the flames as hot, dry “devil winds” are set to persist for much of this week. Already, the Camp Fire has destroyed more structures than any other California wildfire since data collection began. Among the losses include dozens of celebrity-owned homes in Malibu, where the Woolsey and smaller Hill fires are wreaking havoc. Up north, the entire town of Paradise, Calif. has been leveled by the flames.
The blazes have spread to cover a combined 200,000 acres. Gov. Jerry Brown has asked President Trump to issue a “major disaster declaration” that would give California access to federal aid – though there’s a chance that Trump might be reluctant to release the money.
“We’re putting everything we’ve got into the fight against these fires, and this request ensures communities on the front lines get additional federal aid,” Brown said in a statement.
In a harrowing series of images, USA Today showed before-and-after images of homes and businesses in Paradise.
The NWS warned over the weekend that there appears to be no end in sight for the blazes, as the forecast is largely free of seasonal rain. Extinguishing the Woolsey fire could take another five days, and it could take the rest of November to extinguish the Camp Fire, according to CalFire.
Looters
Butte County police have arrested several men suspected of looting during the Camp Fire. The men were reportedly trying to impersonate Forest Service personnel to gain access to the area.
There have been 53 reports of suspected looting in the fire zone according to authorities.
“California Wildfires Set” perhaps should be the title.
California may be trying to force Trump to give them money, in spite of their sanctuary state crap.
they do not deserve a damn red cent, F-them in their ears and out their rectums…how you clowns like me now?? Suck it.
Is there Civil War within the Deep State?
NorCal Fires were ignited by DEW Blue Lasers which were video taped. This NorCal area was Conservative.
The fires in SoCal were ignited in a LIBERAL LEFT area. Video tape has emerged of a news helicopter catching a Blue Laser in the midst of the fire.
TIT FOR TAT ??? 🙂
DK:
Any link on these blue lasers? You mentioned they were video taped…
Thanks
Dad
Try you tube.
Lots of info on the NorCal Fire Lasers available. The SoCal video was on you tube and it was taken by an LA helicopter news team cameraman who may not have recognized what he saw.
Whether that video is still up is anyone’s guess. I saw it. The u tuber who riposted it showed it in both real time and in freeze frame.
No mistake. Same, same Blue Laser leading me to believe the DEEP STATE is in conflict: TIT for TAT !!! 🙂
I think they were set too! That and the moronic mismanagement guided by retarded asswipe greenies that say let nature take it’s course and do not clear out fuels. I am a wildland firefighter and the same shit happened close to me a couple years ago because THE GREENIES wouldn’t allow pine beetle spraying and then refused to sell the BEETLE killed trees to a lumber outfit. Now it is burned down and they are PAYING the outfits to remove whats left. FUCKIN MORONS! California can fook off! Don’t you EVEN move here you asswipes! We hate you people. Stay home and put out the fire with your liberal TEARS you MORONS!
Too many disasters and not enough taxpayers to pay for it.
Live like a California Commie, Burn like a California Commie. I feel sorry for the trees.
Trump should NOT give those vile commie clowns a stinking penny! Let all the liberal scum and the retard pervert deviants in HollyWeird cover the tab for a change, since they care about everyone sooooooooooo much. No, no money for their a$$es, too bad.
TSB, I also feel sorry for the trees and the good people who lost something.
Build a wall around CA and cut ALL funds. You made your bed, LAY IN IT!
People died in their cars, trying to escape.
Best to be prepared to grab a bag and go.
People wait to long. If it takes ten or twelve minutes to bundle up photos and valuables, that could be the difference between survival and injury or death.
_
“People died in their cars, trying to escape.”
Of course they did, their STUPID. Drive to the Cali/USA wall and wait for it to pin them. Maybe the hordes of invaders will save them?
BfromCA don’t think I could load my guns, ammo and PM in 10 to 12 minutes. Trekker Out
On second thought, my gun and my box of ammo in 10 to 12 minutes, maybe, but I’m sure not all of my gold and silver. Trekker Out
Close the forests to logging to protect the spotted owl.
It happened here, the logging industry closed down, the lumber mills, and all the jobs related to a thriving industry.
People used to PAY to manage the forests for us, now we must PAY them to make fire breaks around our little towns in the big woods.
Since 1990 we have had 3 major fires totaling over 100K acres each. The pine bark beetle have done a good job of killing large swaths of pines which go up like roman candles when just a simple lightning strike happens.
Manage the forests or they’ll manage you…
That is my assessment as well. You can’t even go in and pick up the dead trees, use the dead wood. Stupid. If people didn’t realize the ecofreaks were crazy they will now.
The idea of unspoiled land is ridiculous. It is an impossible ideal that has now caused 150K people to become refugees. There are 70K to 80K homeless in LA county. Where are all these people going to live?
Who is going to move back and build in these areas? Who is going to provide fire insurance? Wait until January and February, when the rains come so will the flooding and mudslides.
PD, on our properties we cut down dead trees and cut up all the underbrush. We’re going to protect our properties the best we can from fire and won’t let any stupid laws stand in our way.
” There are 70K to 80K homeless in LA county. Where are all these people going to live?”
NOT HERE!
Looks like California is being depopulated….
Looks like a white guy cuffed for looting. Hmmmm, I know he must be the gang’s supervisor.
Why don’t they collect all the turds from the Homeless dropping trowel and shitting on the sidewalks, load them on those fire retardant planes and drop them on the fire instead of dumping them in the Pacific.
Best idea I’ve heard all day!
Probably, a high-functioning, social conservative, who does not know any words in Ebonics.
If life as we know it goes on for three more generations, I’m betting this is no longer a white person.
It seems to me these fires have been made much worse because of
ECO-NUTs shutting down conventional Forest management practices. Logging, controlled brush burns, and other practices have been shut down. Then they build houses right in the middle of fire prone areas. Then are surprised when stuff burns up!
I have very little desire to use tax dollars to help these people re-build when these people significantly contributed to the damage that occurred and it will just burn again if significant changes in forest and brush management isn’t implemented.
No matter how these fires were started, peppers need to take heed. Many of these homes would have been spared had they not been nestled right in among a couples of acres of towering pines. Look at your property and make sure you a have a large fire buffer all the way around you property. Those trees look pretty, but are a forest fire nightmare. I would rather live in a barron sand pit, than give fire a chance of over running my home.
Yeah. There is no way in hell I would live in a stick built home in that area, either. They burned like matchsticks. If people had built using concrete or earth along with some type of automatic fire suppression system built in, they might have a house that could be lived in again, after being cleaned up.
No pond, no fire suppression, no pumps, and highly flammable landscaping and building materials: the end result, as we have witnessed, is hell.
PD, They are also right near a major fault line and the type of homes you mention can’t be built to meet today’s earthquake standards.
Seems if the ground there isn’t shaking it’s burning up. Next will be mudslides once the heavy rains arrive in January. There will be boulders the size of cars rolling down those hills. I predict it’s going to get worse.
I posted a long comment on the previous CA Fire Thread on Saturday but it got stuck in moderation and just posted today. I mentioned my opinions/insights based upon my experiences regarding the situation there in CA. I lived there 18 years, moved out 10 years ago. Glad I left.
Stupidity IS painful!
The BOL and the relatives’ properties have fire buffers all the way around. Dead trees and underbrush are cut down and cleared out all around so the chances of fire on our properties are greatly reduced. We don’t give a shit what the eco-nuts say; we’re going to protect our properties the best we can from fire.
The name is not just a nom de guerre. Have been there done that and have the burns to prove it. Depending on the conditions you may have literally ZERO time to run. I got lucky, I was on the edge of a wind driven fire and it was still touch and go. Mitigation is the most important thing you can do. I found the 47 oliver hg-42 handy also. Sprinklers are wonderful especially gravity feed. Hose’s pump’s and a water source are nice also. Nothing stands in the direct path of a full blown fire.
Do not arrest the looters, shoot the bastards.
I do not like the way things are done, or the people used to do them.
Wind roars around my house, and I am comfortable.
No matter who is to blame for the fires — and, there are lots of people, who I would like to blame, continuously, for everything — their broken circuit gave you the earliest possible warning.
I don’t have any problems with the creature comforts of the first world, per se.
So, how was the sausage made.
In my town — of Beaumont, CA — utilities workers were sent to the private homes of upper management, for fake makework, leading alphabet soup agencies to City Hall. (To make a long story short.)
One of your retirees is an old guy, who likes those bicycle shorts. Tears down privacy hedges, looks in windows. Would have needed access to private property, in his employment. Rue Paul body language as he corrects you through the hole which he has made in the fence. Pinko musical tastes and campaign signs and threats of violence.
They apparently need to have been in the system, before you could launder the subsidies. I know a literal bastard. Amoral. Will correct you, if you use the wrong word for a pile of bricks. Says that customer service is how he deals with life. Does not know what the math course was used for. Is told what to order and from whom. Does not know where vendors come from.
These kinds of people get built-up, while the city is in decay. Mediocre minds in lavish lifestyles. Shiny cars, expanive houses, and yards like arboretums. Sprays poison in your yard. Poisons independent means and independent mindset.
If there was some machine, to keep your lights on and fridge running, off grid, independently, would most of California buy that. What if these people can be flexed like a muscle. What if *you used *them. What if you didn’t.