New data is out that suggests the January fires in the L.A. region affected the local economy on a wider scale than just the burn zones.

The findings come from the  L.A. County Department of Economic Opportunity and the  L.A. County Economic Development Corporation (LAEDC), a nonprofit organization that measures growth in the region.

Research initially focused on the loss of housing and jobs in the burn zones of the Palisades and Eaton fires. It’s now been expanded to include “secondary areas” — the periphery sections that were under mandatory evacuation but didn’t burn.

What happened to the local economy next to the burn zones?

While businesses in the burn zones were damaged or completely destroyed, those in the nearby areas were still significantly affected, said Dan Wei, an econom

See Full Page