Year-to-Date Wildfire Statistics*
| January - December | Totals | Rank (out of 22 years) | Record | 2001-2020 Average |
| Value | Year | |||
| Acres Burned | 7,139,713 | 13th Most | 10,274,679 | 7,000,514 |
| Acres Burned | 7,139,713 | 10th Least | 10,274,679 | 7,000,514 |
| Number of Fires | 58,733 | 18th Most | 96,385 | 68,707 |
What are some interesting facts about forest fires?
Interesting Facts about Forest Fires A crown fire is a fire that spreads quickly by burning across the tops of trees. Wildfires in the United States typically burn between 4 million and 9 million acres each year.
What is the largest forest fire in history?
the largest forest fire was the Miramichi Fire in New Brunswick, Canada in 1825 with about 3 million acres (12150 km²). this fire killed 160 people.But that is only for North America. Answer has 9 votes. Currently voted the best answer. Answer has 9 votes.
What city in California has the most wildfires?
Why Does California Have So Many Wildfires?
- The (changing) climate. The first is California’s climate. ...
- People. Even if the conditions are right for a wildfire, you still need something or someone to ignite it. ...
- Fire suppression. It’s counterintuitive, but the United States’ history of suppressing wildfires has actually made present-day wildfires worse.
- The Santa Ana winds. ...
What causes most forest fires?
What Causes Forest Fires?
- Human Causes. Human activities near or within forested areas are the number one cause of forest fires. ...
- Natural Causes. Lightning is the biggest natural cause of forest fires. ...
- Prevention. Most natural fires are usually monitored and allowed to burn, with the aim of balancing a forest's ecology.
How many forest fires happen a year?
Since 2000, an annual average of 70,072 wildfires has burned an annual average of 7.0 million acres.
How many forest fires happened in 2020?
9,900 wildfiresQuick Summary. Just over 9,900 wildfires burned about 4.3 million acres in 2020. That's more than twice the previous record of acres burned in California.
What is the percentage of forest fires?
Nearly 85 percent* of wildland fires in the United States are caused by humans. Human-caused fires result from campfires left unattended, the burning of debris, equipment use and malfunctions, negligently discarded cigarettes, and intentional acts of arson. Lightning is one of the two natural causes of fires.
How many forest fires are there in 2021?
Wildfires By State, 2021StateNumber of firesNumber of acres burnedCalifornia9,2602,233,666Colorado1,01748,195Connecticut60127Delaware0049 more rows
Are wildfires increasing?
Since 1950, the area burned by California wildfires each year has been increasing, as spring and summer temperatures have warmed and spring snowmelt has occurred earlier.
How many wildfires happened in 2022?
2,9722022 California wildfiresStatisticsTotal fires2,972Total area16,907 acres (6,842 ha)Date(s)January 21–present5 more rows
Are forest fires caused by climate change?
The report describes a worsening cycle: Climate change brings more drought and higher temperatures that make it easy for fires to start and spread, and in turn those blazes release more climate-changing carbon into the atmosphere as they burn through forests and peatland.
What percent of wildfires are arson?
But arson was also a factor, sparking about 9% of fires in 2019, and roughly 8% to 10% of the state's wildfires in any given year. In 2021, when Cal Fire responded to more than 8,600 fires, that could mean as many as 800 blazes.
What country has the most wildfires?
Bolivia registered the second largest number of wildfires in the region that year, at over 34 thousand....Number of wildfires in South America in 2021, by country or territory.CharacteristicNumber of wildfiresBrazil184,081Bolivia34,429Argentina33,867Paraguay25,1299 more rows•Jan 11, 2022
What was the biggest wildfire of 2021?
Dixie fireMore than 7.6 million acres burned in the US in 2021 due to wildfires. That's about 2.6 million fewer acres than 2020. California's Dixie fire was the largest wildfire of 2021; it burned more than 960,000 acres before being contained.
What was the biggest wildfire in history?
Peshtigo Fire The Peshtigo Fire of 1871 was the deadliest wildfire in recorded human history. The fire occurred on October 8, 1871, on a day when the entirety of the Great Lake region of the United States was affected by a huge conflagration that spread throughout the U.S. states of Wisconsin, Michigan and Illinois.
Which state has the most wildfires 2021?
CaliforniaCalifornia is the most wildfire-prone state in the United States. In 2021, over 9,000 individual wildfires burned in the Southwestern state ravishing nearly 2.23 million acres. California accounted for roughly 31 percent of all acres burned due to wildland fires in the U.S.
Which state has the most fire deaths per million?
led the nation in number of fire deaths. Mississippi, Oklahoma, Tennessee and Kansas . had the most deaths per million population in the U.S. State fire deaths State fire profiles.
How many firefighters were injured in the fire in 2018?
22,975 firefighters were injured on the fireground in 2018. Visit: National Fire Protection Association for more statistics on firefighter injuries. Report: Fire-Related Firefighter Injuries Reported to the National Fire Incident Reporting System (2015–2017) July 2019.
Wild Fire Statistics
The National Center for Environmental Information reports that there were 5,984 wild fires reported in 2021, which is up 244 from the year before. The highest number of fires since 2000 was in 2001, when there were 10,223 fires, and the least was in 2004, with only 1,368 fires.
Forest Fire Statistics
In the American southwest, there’s been a significant increase in the number of forest fires. Before the 1930s, fires on the ponderosa were not an important issue. However, in 1960, the numbers began to increase significantly, and in 1980, they spiked again to an all-time high, where they remain today.
Death by Fire Statistics
The U.S. Fire Administration used its data to determine the risk of death by fire for each state in America and found 24 with a higher-than-average risk. Of those with a higher risk, Alaska, the District of Columbia, Mississippi, and Oklahoma are especially high. Florida, Hawaii, Massachusetts, and oddly, California are all fairly low-risk areas.
What Causes Wild Fires?
Drought is a major cause of forest fires because it dries out the ground and makes it easy for the fire to spread. Areas like California, Oregon, and Washington can experience very little rain at certain times of the year, and large portions of those states can face drought conditions.
How Can I Prevent Wild Fires?
The best thing you can do to prevent wild fires is to be careful when you’re outside and use items that can start a fire. Cigarettes are among the biggest causes of fire, so if you smoke, make sure that yours is out before you get rid of it.
What Should I Do If I See a Wild Fire?
If you are driving or walking and see evidence of a wild fire, we highly recommend calling the local fire department and staying far away from it. Even a small fire can spread very quickly and surround you, putting you and anyone with you in life-threatening danger.
Conclusion
Unfortunately, wild fires are on the increase in the United States largely due to heavy drought conditions we’ve been facing.
When did the Forest Service stop collecting wildfire statistics?
The two lines represent two different reporting systems though the Forest Service stopped collecting statistics (orange line) in 1997 and is not planning to update them, those statistics are shown here for comparison.
When did wildfires increase?
The extent of area burned by wildfires each year appears to have increased since the 1980s. According to National Interagency Fire Center data, of the 10 years with the largest acreage burned, all have occurred since 2004, including the peak year in 2015 (see Figure 2).
How do wildfires affect the ecosystem?
Together, forests, shrubland, and grassland cover more than half of the land area in the United States. 1 These ecosystems are important resources, both environmentally and economically. Although wildfires occur naturally and play a long-term role in the health of these ecosystems, changing wildfire patterns threaten to upset the status quo. Multiple studies have found that climate change has already led to an increase in wildfire season length, wildfire frequency, and burned area. 2,3 The wildfire season has lengthened in many areas due to factors including warmer springs, longer summer dry seasons, and drier soils and vegetation. 4 Similarly, climate change threatens to increase the frequency, extent, and severity of fires through increased temperatures and drought (see the U.S. and Global Temperature and Drought indicators). 5 Earlier spring melting and reduced snowpack (see the Snowpack indicator) result in decreased water availability during hot summer conditions, which in turn contributes to an increased wildfire risk, allowing fires to start more easily and burn hotter. These trends of longer wildfire seasons and larger wildfire size are predicted to continue as more frequent and longer droughts occur. 6 In addition to climate change, other factors—land use, large-scale insect infestation, fuel availability (including invasive species such as highly flammable cheatgrass), and management practices, including fire suppression—play an important role in wildfire frequency and intensity. All of these factors influencing wildfires vary greatly by region and over time, as do precipitation, wind, temperature, vegetation types, and landscape conditions. Therefore, understanding changes in fire characteristics requires long-term records, a regional perspective, and consideration of many factors. 7
What is the indicator of wildfires?
This indicator defines a wildfire as "a wildland fire originating from an unplanned ignition, such as lightning, volcanos, unauthorized and accidental human caused fires, and prescribed fires that are declared wildfires.” 17 This indicator tracks four aspects of wildfires over time: the total number of fires (frequency), the total land area burned (extent), the degree of damage that fires cause to the landscape (severity), and the acreage burned by fires starting in each month of the year (seasonal patterns).
What are the factors that influence wildfires?
All of these factors influencing wildfires vary greatly by region and over time, as do precipitation, wind, temperature, vegetation types, and landscape conditions. Therefore, understanding changes in fire characteristics requires long-term records, a regional perspective, and consideration of many factors. 7.
How many acres are burned in a square mile?
For reference, there are 640 acres in a square mile; therefore, an average burned area of 6.4 acres per square mile would mean that fires burned 1 percent of a state’s total land area. A few states did not have any fires that were large enough to be included in this analysis. Data source: MTBS, 2020 26.
Who tracks fires?
The total area and total number of fires are tracked by the National Interagency Fire Center, which compiles reports from local, state, and federal agencies that are involved in fighting wildfires. The U.S. Forest Service tracked similar data using a different reporting system until 1997.