Here's a look at how damage is tallied in devastating Los Angeles wildfires The extent of the damage from wildfires ravaging the Los Angeles area is horrific however it's tallied: Neighborhoods have been erased, landmarks destroyed and lives lost.
Los Angeles County Fire Chief Anthony Marrone is among the leaders who have said the estimate includes vehicles — a caveat not typically made when authorities estimate fire damage.
Chris Thomas, a spokesman for the unified incident command at the Palisades fire, said Friday that the initial estimate is based on infrared imaging taken during overhead flight, and it's not always easy to tell from that altitude whether a burned-out shape was a pickup truck, say, or a shed.
Sixteen teams are examining the damage from the ground and will conclusively determine how many structures were destroyed before reaching a final count, which will not include vehicles.
As California's wildfire agency quickly listed the Pacific Palisades and Eaton fires among the state's most destructive, that led to questions about whether the count was comparing apples and oranges.
