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Updated October 4, 2021
Wildfire Statistics
Wildfires are unplanned fires, including lightning-caused
Notes: FS = Forest Service; DOI = Department of the Interior.
fires, unauthorized human-caused fires, and escaped
Column totals may not add due to rounding.
prescribed fire projects. States are responsible for
responding to wildfires that begin on nonfederal (state,
Figure 1. Annual Wildfires and Acres Burned, 1991-2020
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
preserves, other public lands, and Indian reservations.
Wildfire statistics help to illustrate past U.S. wildfire
activity. Nationwide data compiled by the National
Interagency Coordination Center (NICC) indicate that the
Source: NICC Wildland Fire Summary and Statistics annual reports.
number of annual wildfires is variable but has decreased
Note: Data reflect wildland fires and acres burned nationwide,
including wildland fires on federal and nonfederal lands.
slightly over the last 30 years and the number of acres
affected annually, while also variable, generally has
From 2011 to 2020, there were an average of 62,805
increased (see Figure 1). Since 2000, an annual average of
wildfires annually and an average of 7.5 million acres
70,600 wildfires has burned an annual average of 7.0
impacted annually. In 2020, 58,950 wildfires burned 10.1
million acres. This figure is more than double the average
million acres, the second-most acreage impacted in a year
annual acreage burned in the 1990s (3.3 million acres),
(see Figure 2) since 1960; nearly 40% of these acres were
although a greater number of fires occurred annually in the
in California. Nearly half of the acres impacted were on
1990s (78,600 average).
NFS lands. These official figures from NICC reflect
downward revisions from earlier reported data for 2020.
Table 1. Annual Wildfires and Acres Burned
As of October 4, 2021, over 46,500 wildfires have impacted
2016
2017
2018
2019
2020
over 5.9 million acres.
Number of Fires (thousands)
Figure 2. Top Five Years with Largest Wildfire
Federal
12.6
15.2
12.5
10.9
14.4
Acreage Burned Since 1960
FS
5.7
6.6
5.6
5.3
6.7
DOI
6.8
7.3
7.0
5.3
7.6
Other
<0.1
1.2
0.1
0.2
<0.1
Nonfederal
55.2
56.4
45.6
39.6
44.6
Total
67.7
71.5
58.1
50.5
59.0
Acres Burned (millions)
Federal
3.0
6.3
4.6
3.1
7.1
FS
1.2
2.9
2.3
0.6
4.8
Source: NICC Wildland Fire Summary and Statistics annual reports.
DOI
1.7
3.3
2.3
2.3
2.3
Note: Number of fires in thousands.
Other
<0.1
<0.1
<0.1
<0.1
<0.1
The number of fires and acreage burned are indicators of
Nonfederal
2.5
3.7
4.1
1.6
3.1
the annual level of wildfire activity. However, these
numbers may be misleading with respect to their impact on
Total
5.5
10.0
8.8
4.7
10.1
human development or communities since many fires may
Source: National Interagency Coordination Center (NICC)
occur in large, relatively undeveloped areas. Acreage
Wildland Fire Summary and Statistics annual reports.
burned also does not indicate the severity of the wildfire,
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Wildfire Statistics
the degree of impact upon forests or soils, or other
Notes: West: AK, AZ, CA, CO, ID, HI, MT, NM, NV, OR, UT, WA,
ecological effects.
and WY. East: Al other states, including Puerto Rico.
In 2020, 70% of the nationwide acreage burned by wildfires
Wildfire Damages
was on federal lands (7.1 million acres; see Table 1). The
Although wildfires may have a beneficial impact on
other 30% of the acreage burned occurred on state, local, or
ecological resources, wildfires also may have devastating
privately owned lands. Fires on these lands (44,568)
impacts, especially for communities affected by wildfire
accounted for 76% of total fires. Of the federal acreage
activity. Therefore, statistics showing the level of
burned nationwide in 2020, 68% (4.8 million acres) burned
destruction a wildfire causes can provide useful metrics,
on FS land and 32% (2.3 million acres) burned on DOI land
such as acres burned or impacted, lives lost (firefighters and
(see Figure 3). Most wildfires are human-caused (88% on
civilians), and structures (residential, commercial, and
average from 2016 to 2020), although the wildfires caused
other) destroyed. Table 2 provides some of these data. In
by lightning tend to be slightly larger and burn more
2020, more than 17,000 structures were burned in wildfires,
acreage (55% of the average acreage burned from 2016 to
the majority of which occurred in California.
2020 was ignited by lightning).
Table 2. Loss Statistics
Figure 3. Percentage Acreage Burned by Ownership
2017
2018
2019
2020
Structures Burned
12,306
25,790
963
17,904
% Residences
66%
70%
46%
54%
Source: NICC Wildland Fire Summary and Statistics annual reports.
Conflagrations
Of the 1.5 million wildfires that have occurred since 2000,
224 exceeded 100,000 acres burned and 14 exceeded
500,000 acres burned. Only a small fraction of wildfires
become catastrophic, and a small percentage of fires
accounts for the vast majority of acres burned. For example,
Source: NICC Wildland Fire Summary and Statistics annual reports.
only about 1% of wildfires become conflagrations—raging,
destructive fires—but predicting which fires will “blow up”
More wildfires occur in the East (including the central
into conflagrations is challenging and depends on a
states), but the wildfires in the West are larger and burn
multitude of factors, such as weather and geography. In
more acreage (including Alaska, Arizona, California,
2020, 2% of wildfires were classified as large or significant
Colorado, Idaho, Montana, New Mexico, Nevada, Oregon,
(999); 50 exceeded 40,000 acres in size; and 27 exceeded
Utah, Washington, and Wyoming). In 2020, nearly 26,000
100,000 acres. In context, there were fewer large or
wildfires burned approximately 9.5 million acres in the
significant wildfires in 2019 (806) but more in 2018
West, compared with the over 33,000 fires that burned just
(1,167). There have been 1,126 large or significant fires
under 0.7 million acres in the East. In the East (where there
annually on average from 2016 through 2020.
is less federal acreage), most of the fires occur on
nonfederal lands, whereas in the West most of the fires
Issues for Congress
occur on federal lands (see Figure 4). In 2020, 81% (0.5
Issues for Congress include the strategies and resources
million acres) of the acreage burned in the East was on
used for wildfire prevention, mitigation, and management,
nonfederal land, whereas 75% (7.1 million acres) of the
and the impact of wildfires on both the quality of life and
acreage burned in the West was on federal land.
the economies of communities surrounding wildfire
activity. Other issues relate to post-wildfire recovery and
Figure 4. Acreage Burned by Region and Ownership
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.
For more information, see
CRS In Focus IF10732, Federal Assistance for Wildfire
Response and Recovery;
CRS Insight IN11716, 2021 Wildfire Season: Brief
Overview of FEMA Programs and Resources; and
CRS Report R46583, Federal Wildfire Management:
Ten-Year Funding Trends and Issues (FY2011-FY2020).
Source: NICC Wildland Fire Summary and Statistics annual reports.
Katie Hoover, Specialist in Natural Resources Policy
https://crsreports.congress.gov
Wildfire Statistics
Laura A. Hanson, Senior Research Librarian
IF10244
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