True Cost of Wildfires: Thousands Dead, and $150 Billion in Economic Losses

This year California saw some of the most destructive wildfires in state history, blazes that when combined scorched more than three million acres, an area larger than the state of Delaware. Fires also destroyed or damaged thousands of structures and killed dozens of people. Guest: Yana Valachovic, UCANR Forest Advisor A new study on the comprehensive cost of wildfires, estimates that the 2018 California wildfires led to thousands of deaths, far more than the official count. It also cost the state around $150 Billion Dollars. That larger number factors in the harm of air pollution, and the broader economic impacts of these disasters. Reporter: Danielle Venton, KQED Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices