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Updated March 1, 2023
Wildfire Statistics
Wildfires are unplanned fires, including lightning-caused
Figure 1. Annual Wildfires and Acres Burned, 1993-2022
fires, unauthorized human-caused fires, and escaped fires
from prescribed burn projects. States are responsible for
responding to wildfires that begin on nonfederal (state,
local, and private) lands, except for lands protected by
federal agencies under cooperative agreements. The federal
government is responsible for responding to wildfires that
begin on federal lands. The Forest Service (FS)—within the
U.S. Department of Agriculture—carries out wildfire
management and response across the 193 million acres of
the National Forest System (NFS). The Department of the
Interior (DOI) manages wildfire response for more than 400
million acres of national parks, wildlife refuges and
Source: NICC Wildland Fire Summary and Statistics annual reports.
preserves, other public lands, and Indian reservations.
Note: Data reflect wildland fires and acres burned nationwide,
including wildland fires on federal and nonfederal lands.
Wildfire statistics help illustrate past U.S. wildfire activity.
Nationwide data compiled by the National Interagency
From 2013 to 2022, there were an average of 61,410
Coordination Center (NICC) indicate that the number of
wildfires annually and an average of 7.2 million acres
annual wildfires is variable but has decreased slightly over
impacted annually. In 2022, 68,988 wildfires burned 7.6
the last 30 years. The number of acres affected annually,
million acres. Over 40% of those acres were in Alaska (3.1
while also variable, generally has increased (see Figure 1).
million acres).
Since 2000, an annual average of 70,025 wildfires have
burned an annual average of 7.0 million acres. The acreage
As of February 24, 2023, around 3,500 wildfires have
figure is more than double the average annual acreage
impacted 28,700 acres this year.
burned in the 1990s (3.3 million acres), although a greater
number of fires occurred annually in the 1990s on average
Figure 2. Top Five Years with Largest Wildfire
(78,600).
Acreage Burned Since 1960
Table 1. Annual Wildfires and Acres Burned
2018
2019
2020
2021
2022
Number of Fires (thousands)
Federal
12.5
10.9
14.4
14.0
11.7
FS
5.6
5.3
6.7
6.2
5.9
DOI
7.0
5.3
7.6
7.6
5.8
Other
0.1
0.2
<0.1
0.2
0.1
Source: NICC Wildland Fire Summary and Statistics annual reports.
Nonfederal
45.6
39.6
44.6
45.0
57.2
Note: Number of fires in thousands.
Total
58.1
50.5
59.0
59.0
69.0
The number of fires and acreage burned are indicators of
Acres Burned (millions)
the annual level of wildfire activity. These numbers may
not be indicative of fire’s impact on human development or
Federal
4.6
3.1
7.1
5.2
4.0
communities, since many fires occur in large, relatively
FS
2.3
0.6
4.8
4.1
1.9
undeveloped areas. Acreage burned also does not indicate
the severity of a wildfire, the degree of impact upon forests
DOI
2.3
2.3
2.3
1.0
2.1
or soils, or other ecological effects.
Other
<0.1
<0.1
<0.1
<0.1
<0.1
Most wildfires are human-caused (89% of the average
Nonfederal
4.1
1.6
3.1
1.9
3.6
number of wildfires from 2018 to 2022). Wildfires caused
Total
8.8
4.7
10.1
7.1
7.6
by lightning tend to be slightly larger and to burn more
Source: National Interagency Coordination Center (NICC)
acreage (53% of the average acreage burned from 2018 to
Wildland Fire Summary and Statistics annual reports.
2022) than human-caused fires.
Notes: FS = Forest Service; DOI = Department of the Interior.
Column totals may not sum precisely due to rounding.
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Wildfire Statistics
In 2022, 52% of the nationwide acreage burned by wildfires
Resources
was on federal lands (4.0 million acres; see Table 1), lower
Another metric useful for assessing wildfire activity is the
than the 10-year average (64%) of impacted federal land
extent to which nationwide resources—including personnel
acreage. The other 48% of the acreage burned in 2022 was
and equipment—are engaged in wildfire suppression. A
on state, local, or privately owned lands, though the fires on
proxy for resource commitments is the nationwide
these lands accounted for 83% of total fires. Of the federal
Preparedness Level (PL) scale, which ranges from 1
acreage burned nationwide in 2022, 52% (2.1 million acres)
(lowest) to 5 (highest). The higher PLs indicate significant
burned on DOI land and 47% (1.9 million acres) burned on
commitment of shared resources. In 2022, the nationwide
FS land (see Figure 3). The 2022 figures are driven largely
level was 4 for 10 days and never reached the highest level
by Alaska, where just over half of the acreage impacted
(5). In contrast, the highest level was reached for 68 days in
occurred on nonfederal lands (1.6 million acres) and just
2021, the longest since at least 2000.
under half was on DOI lands (1.5 million acres).
Wildfire Damages
Figure 3. Percentage Acreage Burned by Ownership
Wildfires may affect certain ecological resources
beneficially, but wildfires also may have devastating
impacts, especially for communities affected by wildfire
activity. Statistics showing the level of destruction a
wildfire caused can provide useful metrics to evaluate the
fire’s effect. Such statistics may include acres burned or
impacted, lives lost (firefighters and civilians), and
structures (residential, commercial, and other) destroyed.
For example, in 2022, over 2,700 structures were burned in
wildfires; the majority of the damage occurred in California
(see Table 2).
Table 2. Loss Statistics
Source: NICC Wildland Fire Summary and Statistics annual reports.
2019
2020
2021
2022
Note: DOI = Department of the Interior.
Structures Burned
963
17,904
5,972
2,717
More wildfires occur in the East (including the central
% Residences
46%
54%
60%
46%
states), but the wildfires in the West (i.e., Alaska, Arizona,
Source: NICC Wildland Fire Summary and Statistics annual reports.
California, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, New Mexico,
Nevada, Oregon, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming) are
Conflagrations
larger and burn more acreage. In 2022, just over 20,000
Of the 1.6 million wildfires that have occurred since 2000,
wildfires burned approximately 5.8 million acres in the
254 exceeded 100,000 acres burned and 16 exceeded
West, compared with the over 48,000 fires that burned just
500,000 acres burned. A small fraction of wildfires become
over 1.8 million acres in the East. In the East (where there
catastrophic, and a small percentage of fires accounts for
is less federal acreage), most of the fires occur on
the vast majority of acres burned. For example, about 1% of
nonfederal lands; in the West, most of the fires occur on
wildfires become conflagrations—raging, destructive
federal lands (see Figure 4). In 2022, 85% (1.5 million
fires—but predicting which fires will “blow up” into
acres) of the acreage burned in the East was on nonfederal
conflagrations is challenging and depends on a multitude of
land, whereas 64% (3.7 million acres) of the acreage burned
factors, such as weather and geography. There have been
in the West was on federal land.
1,041 large or significant fires annually on average from
2018 through 2022. In 2022, 2% of wildfires were
Figure 4. Acreage Burned by Region and Ownership
classified as large or significant (1,289); 45 exceeded
40,000 acres in size, and 17 exceeded 100,000 acres. For
context, there were fewer large or significant wildfires in
2021 (943) but more in 2017 (1,409).
Issues for Congress
Issues Congress may consider include the strategies and
resources used for wildfire prevention, mitigation, and
management, as well as wildfires’ impact on both the
quality of life and the economies of communities affected
by wildfire activity. Other issues relate to post-wildfire
recovery and site restoration. Congress also considers the
total federal cost of wildfire management, including the
cost of suppression operations; these costs vary annually
and are difficult to predict.
Source: NICC Wildland Fire Summary and Statistics annual reports.
Notes: West: AK, AZ, CA, CO, ID, HI, MT, NM, NV, OR, UT, WA,
Katie Hoover, Specialist in Natural Resources Policy
and WY. East: Al other states and Puerto Rico.
Laura A. Hanson, Senior Research Librarian
IF10244
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Wildfire Statistics
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