Jan 15 (Reuters) - The Los Angeles Area Chamber of

Commerce on Wednesday announced the creation of a relief fund to

support and rebuild small businesses affected by the wildfires

that have ravaged parts of Los Angeles for the past week.

The Chamber will provide grants ranging from $5,000

to$10,000 as a direct support along with disaster recovery

webinars and business advising support to guide through the

rebuilding phase.

The monstrous fires have killed at least 25 people, damaged

or destroyed nearly 12,000 structures and consumed an area the

size of Washington, D.C. already.

Some 6.5 million people remained under a critical fire

threat as winds were forecast to be 20 to 40 miles (32-64 km) an

hour with gusts up to 70 mph and humidity dropping into the

single digits during the day, the National Weather Service said

on Wednesday.

The new fund got an initial donation of $500,000 from Bank

of America ( BAC ) and additional contributions of $250,000 from

Chevron ( CVX ) and home security company Ring.

Bank of America ( BAC ) committed $1 million to the American Red

Cross last week to help with the recovery efforts, $500,000 to

the LA Regional Food Bank in addition to half a million dollars

to the LA Chamber.

Meanwhile Canadian lender Royal Bank of Canada ( RY ) and

L.A.'s City National Bank announced a combined donation of $3

million to support victims of the devastating wildfires in

Southern California.

Private forecaster AccuWeather estimates total damage and

economic loss between $250 billion and $275 billion, which would

make the LA fires the costliest natural disaster in U.S.

history, surpassing Hurricane Katrina in 2005.