At Wednesday's South Bay Economic Forecast Conference in Torrance, economist Jack Kyser said that the recent Southern California fires that destroyed 2,000 homes would give the region's economy a boost.
"You're going to have money coming in," Kyser said of the rebuilding efforts that follow such disasters. "It will be good for San Diego, but the rest of Southern California will get a little bit of a boost."
Kyser, chief economist of the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corp., said he was not sure how much damage the fire caused to business and infrastructure.
One downside of the fires, aside from the deaths and toll on people's lives, is the perception the rest of the nation and world has of California, Kyser said. While the fire engulfed pockets of Southern California, people who don't know the state's geography may assume that the whole region was toasted by the flames, Kyser explained.
That perception is what led San Diego Mayor Jerry Sanders to announce: "We want the message to go out across the world: San Diego is open for business."
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