After two ravaging seasons of California wildfires, the news brings a somewhat happier report. Experts have found that the season of 2019 California wildfires was less devastating than the last two seasons.

According to AccuWeather, a total of 253,354 acres burned in California in 2019, whereas in 2018, 1.8 million acres burned, and 1.3 million acres burned in 2017. AccuWeather explains that some counties were hit the hardest — Kincade, Walker, Tucker, and Maria, suffered the most fire damage. 

This reduced damage came, surprisingly, along with a longer than usual dry season. According to AccuWeather, the rainy season came later than its usual October arrival, showing up in late November. As a result, experts predicted that the wildfires could continue as late as December. 

Estimates for the total damage done by wildfires in the 2019 season varied — AccuWeather estimated that the damages would cost around $80 billion, while Insurance Journal stated that insured losses — a subset of total losses, totaled around $25.4 billion through October 29. However, the damage did not stop on October 29, so further calculation was needed to fully take stock of the damage. After another 17,000 acres burned because of additional fires, the damage was estimated to be around $40 billion in insured losses, and $80 billion in total losses.

In contrast to the 2019 California wildfires season, the 2018 wildfire season hit California with around $400 billion, and the 2017 wildfire season hit California with $85 billion in damages.

Though the wildfires, and the resultant damage, were less than those suffered in previous years, the 2019 California wildfires did take their toll on the population of California, nonetheless. AccuWeather explains that these power outages can mean significant costs for both businesses and individuals attempting to get by without power.

NPR explains that the state will likely experience more blackouts for the next decade, as power companies strategically shut off power in an effort to avoid wildfires.

This effort to reduce wildfires by shutting off power was spurred by the discovery that Pacific Gas and Electric Company’s failure to repair power lines was linked to the 2018 Camp Fire, which the San Fransisco Bee called the deadliest in California’s history.

According to a report by Vox, the California Public Utilities Commission conducted an investigation that determined that the Camp Fire was started from sparks created when a broke C-hook on a power line let a jumper cable touch the tower. These sparks then started the Camp Fire, which burned for 17 days and killed 85 people, says Vox.

Now, PG&E and other power companies are shutting off power in an attempt to prevent similar events, says NPR. However, the company has faced criticism for its handling of the blackouts. Critics claimed the company did not communicate with the public appropriately about the blackouts, nor did the company appropriately handle consumer questions during the outages. Officials from PG&E did admit that the company was not prepared for the outages, reports NPR. 

This article is not legal advice. It is presented
for informational purposes only.