Even though the total area burned was relatively small, 2025 was the most economically damaging wildfire year on record, according to a new analysis published on Sunday.

The Los Angeles fires and a handful of severe blazes in other countries, including South Korea and Spain, drove up losses worldwide to at least $54 billion, the study estimates. It was the highest level of insured losses on record.

That figure does not include all indirect losses like missed work days, business closures and added pressure on health care systems. It is also a conservative estimate, because insurers do not typically share proprietary data and the damage can be difficult to assess in some countries.

When estimates of indirect losses are factored in, the fires that hit the Los Angeles area alone would add at least $100 billion to the total, according to the study.

Those fires tore through at least 90 square miles early last year, killing at least 31 people and forcing more than 150,000 residents to evacuate their homes. Some experts estimate that hundreds more died from indirect causes such as smoke inhalation.

The researchers gathered data on wildfire area and damage from 2025 events in the EM-DAT database, which is the product of a global, communal research effort to track disasters and their costs to society and to the natural world. It is not a complete picture, but it provides researchers and policymakers with minimum estimates for damage from fires, floods and other disasters.

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