Zelensky suggests sending Ukrainian firefighters to California

On Sunday evening, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky offered to send Ukrainian firefighters to California in the United States, where fires are sweeping the Los Angeles area.
Zelensky announced that he had instructed his Interior Minister to “prepare for the possible participation of our rescue workers in fighting the fires in California.”
“The situation there is very difficult, and the Ukrainians can help the Americans save lives,” he said in a video on the X platform, adding that this assistance is “being coordinated” and that “150 firefighters are already ready.”

The fires that killed at least 24 people in Los Angeles continued to expand on Sunday and could intensify in the coming hours with the expected return of strong winds.
The city, which has been besieged by fire since Tuesday, continues to count casualties, with 24 dead recorded as of Sunday evening, a toll that could rise, according to the authorities.

California fires… billions in losses

The devastating wildfires that struck Los Angeles and other parts of Southern California may be one of the costliest natural disasters in US history, as they have caused major devastation to home insurance companies, according to what the German network DW reported.

The Hollywood Hills are under fire

No place embodies affluence as clearly as Los Angeles’ Hollywood Hills, and the exclusivity of this neighborhood is one reason why wildfires may be one of the costliest natural disasters in U.S. history.
The wildfires have killed at least 10 people and already destroyed tens of billions of dollars’ worth of property.

It even threatened famous landmarks such as the Hollywood Sign and reduced many famous sites and buildings in Los Angeles to ashes.

Billion losses in California fires

Analysts at JPMorgan said that losses resulting from the fire could exceed tens of billions of dollars.
They stated: “Expectations of economic losses resulting from the fires have doubled to nearly $50 billion (48.55 billion euros), and we estimate that insured losses from the disaster could exceed $20 billion and even more if the fires are not controlled.”
The credit rating agency Moody’s also said that it expects insured losses to reach “billions of dollars due to the high value of homes and businesses in the affected areas,” which indicates that wildfires are the costliest disaster in the history of the United States in terms of insured losses, which exceeds the costs. Other recent disasters are in California and Hawaii.