Real estate mogul details how Los Angeles can rebuild after wildfires, says California leaders must ‘step up’
While many Californians have been outspoken in their disapproval of California state leadership’s response to the tragic and untamed wildfires, The Agency’s Mauricio Umansky believes they could "step up" and help rebuild the Golden State.
"I predict that the damage is going to be north of $100 billion. And we're just going to need help from absolutely everybody," Umansky said on "Varney & Co." Friday.
"The likelihood of getting back into your home for a short period of time is very unlikely," he continued. "We've got to go clean the water. We got to get power back on, the electricity back on. The government's going to have to step up and make permitting easier. Put up a task force that really gets involved in all of these things and help with the rebuilding."
The Palisades Fire, Eaton Fire, Kenneth Fire, Hurst Fire and Lidia Fire have burned more than 27,000 acres and 10,000 homes and buildings in the Los Angeles area, officials say. The Eaton Fire has claimed seven lives and three other fire-related deaths were confirmed by the Los Angeles County coroner, Fox News has reported.
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A new analysis published by JPMorgan estimates that the overall economic losses and insured losses caused by the deadly wildfires impacting Southern California are likely to be the most costly in state history, up to $50 billion.
Umansky’s real estate brokerage holds more than 50,800 listings in the greater Los Angeles area, according to its website.
"This is going to have to be a process. There's going to be a lot of questions asked right now, I think there's a few answers. Obviously, we need to get a hold of the fire, and we need to get people into houses, and we need to take care of all of our residents that have lost their homes and have been displaced," the CEO said.
Homeowners "need" state and city leaders to contribute to the disaster rescue, relief and recovery efforts, Umansky argued, but ultimately expressed doubt about their abilities: "I don't think they're going to do it."
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"They've proven time and time again that they don't have the means to do it, the brain to do it, they just focus on the wrong things. We're one of the largest economies in the world. We're the highest-taxed economy state in the country. And we're just not doing things right," he criticized.
"But the optimism in me is hoping and praying for the rebuilding of these communities, that we're a very important part of, that we do the right thing and that we figure out how to do it," Umansky expanded, "that they get a task force, that they they get advisers around them that know what they're doing, and that they listen and that they actually act."
FOX Business' Eric Revell and Fox News staff contributed to this report.