Fire Fight Est. $67 M, Total $2 B
By Mark E. Ruquet
NU Online News Service, Nov. 3, 4:20 p.m. EST?Preliminary estimates for costs of fighting fires in Southern California are more than $67 million and damage estimates are about $2 billion, according to experts. One insurer reported 1,544 homeowner claims so far.
After more than a week, moisture and snow are helping firefighters gain control over flames that have injured 219 people and ravaged five counties and more than 743,000 acres.
The blazes, covering San Bernardino, Riverside, San Diego, Los Angeles, and Ventura counties, have claimed 20 lives, more than 4,844 homes and other buildings, and caused the evacuation of 27,729 people, said Troy Swauger, a spokesperson for the California Office of Emergency Services.
He emphasized that estimates of more than $67 million for the costs of fighting fires are preliminary.
More than 10,000 fire fighters are currently engaged in fighting the blazes that have extended from the border of Mexico to Ventura County, North-East of Los Angeles.
Dave Dasgupta, a spokesperson for the Jersey City, N.J.-based Insurance Services Office, Inc., said that Old Fire in San Bernardino was declared a catastrophe on Oct. 30 by ISO. Cedar Fire was declared a catastrophe on Oct. 29. He could not say at this time if others would be added to the list.
He added that additional determinations could not be made until adjusters begin to evaluate claims and insurers begin reporting their losses.
Once the fires are under control and claims are made, he said it would be at least another week to 10 days before ISO's Property Claim Services unit can make a final determination of costs.
PCS defined a catastrophe as an event within a particular territory that causes $25 million or more in insured property loses and affects a significant number of property-casualty policyholders and insurers.
Pete Moraga, a spokesperson for the Insurance Information Network of California based in Los Angeles, said that adjusters are just now getting into the areas and filing claims.
IIN of California is currently sticking to its insured damage estimate of $1.3 to $1.5 billion, but he added, that is still preliminary and the real figure will not be known until adjusters start doing their work.
Other estimates have put the cost of the fires, which number 10 separate fires at one point, at more than $2 billion. As of Friday, there were 5,135 claims filed, he said, mostly homeowners claims, with a few auto and commercial claims.
Mr. Moraga said claims teams have been mobilized from all over the country to "help expedite things and help people get back to their normal lives."
On Friday, Farmers Insurance, the second largest holder of homeowners policies in California, said it had received 1,544 homeowners claims "and more than 370 are considered large losses."
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