50+ Wildfire Statistics

In 2024, wildfires resulted in 1.8 billion dollars in damage, with wildfires responsible for millions of acres and hundreds of thousands of homes being lost every year.

The majority of wildfires are the result of human causes but no matter the cause, with an increase in the number of wildfires and the duration of wildfire season thanks to things like climate change, homeowners are finding it harder to get the right fire insurance.

This article will review key wildfire statistics, the costs of suppression, and the cost of damage.

Key Wildfire Statistics

Wildfire greats have increased 238% since 1983, with an average of over 60,000 wildfires every year in the United States. Many areas of the United States are at a higher risk than others with over 2.6 million homes in 14 states considered to be at high risk of wildfire damage making it imperative to have the right insurance coverage.

• 85%: An average of 85% of all wildfires throughout history have been caused by humans.
• $20 billion: Wildfire, drought, and heat waves have resulted in over 20 billion dollars in economic losses.
• $10.4 billion: In 2023, over 10 billion dollars were filed in insurance losses as a result of wildfires.

Wildfires By State

Fires tend to burn more in the western part of the United States compared to the eastern part of the United States with the amount of burned acreage in the west noticeably increasing nearly every year since 2003.

• Climate change has led to an increase in wildfire season length and frequency.
• Wildfire season has lengthened due to longer dry summers, warmer springs, dry soil and dry vegetation.
• Increased temperatures have led to earlier spring melt and reduced snowpack which decreased the available water during wildfire season making it possible for wildfires to start more easily and continue to burn more acreage.
• Fuel availability and management practices have influenced the number and intensity of wildfires, changing from one region to the next due to things like vegetation type, temperature, and precipitation.
• Peak fire season used to take place in August but starting from 2003 to 2021 peak fire season started in July, leading to a longer fire season.

The table below indicates the differences in wildfire rates by state:

States Most Prone To Wildfires

Which states are most prone to wildfires? California has the highest risk of wildfires, nearly four times that of the next highest risk state, Colorado. This is in large part due to conditions listed above.

It is also due to the number of housing units, or available structures that could be damaged in a fire. The ten states most prone to wildfires are:

1. California
2. Colorado
3. Texas
4. Oregon
5. Arizona
6. Edaho
7. New Mexico
8. Utah
9. Montana
10. Washington

10 States With Most Wildfires

Which states have the most wildfires? In terms of the number of fires in 2023, the rankings are:

1. California
2. Texas
3. North Carolina
4. Florida
5. Georgia
6. Mississippi
7. Oregon
8. Pennsylvania
9. Alabama
10. Arizona

In terms of the number of acres burned by wildfires in 2023, the rankings are:

1. California
2. Alaska
3. New Mexico
4. Texas
5. Oregon
6. Arizona
7. Nebraska
8. Oklahoma
9. Washington
10. Montana

How Are Wildfires Caused?

While there are many causes of wildfires, statistically speaking the biggest cause is humans.

For example:

• 94%: In 2024 there were 61,685 total wildfires, of which 57,962 or 94% were caused by humans.
• 91%: In 2023 there were 55,571 total wildfires, of which 91% were caused by humans.
• 93%: In 2022, there were 66,255 total wildfires, 93% of which were caused by humans.

Human caused wildfires dropped by nearly 25% during COVID compared to the years before and after.

Humans can cause wildfires through things like:

1. Unattended campfires that are not properly extinguished
2. Improperly discarded cigarettes that can spark a fire on the ground
3. Vehicle sparks
4. Improper firework management
5. Power line malfunction
6. Arson

Some of the largest wildfires throughout history have been caused by things like power line malfunction which hit dry vegetation and spread through erratic wind conditions or things like gender reveal parties that use flammable materials in a very dry area with low humidity.

Behind human caused fires, the remainder are almost entirely caused by lightning strikes. The number of lightning caused wildfires have dropped significantly since 2007, however, they have still been key causes in many destructive fires throughout history.

Lightning can cause wildfires by directly hitting the ground and generating enough heat to ignite the vegetation and dry plants or by striking trees. These are most likely during storms with high wind or erratic wind patterns, in areas that have a higher rate of dry fuel and limited moisture like rain.

Below is a table indicating the number of wildfires caused by humans versus caused by lightning over the last twenty years:

Worst Wildfires In History

The 5 worst wildfires in US history were the:

1. Texas Wildfires in 2024: This fire collectively refers to several fires that started in February of 2024, the largest fire event in the history of Texas with things like the Smokehouse Creek Fire Burning over 1 million acres.
2. Maui Wildfires in 2023: Starting in August, wildfires were propelled by strong winds and resulted in the death of over 100 people, the largest wildfire in the area since 1918.
3. Dixie Fire in 2021: After an unprecedented heat wave in June, this fire burned nearly 500,000 acres in Northern California, the second largest fire in California history.
4. Bay Area Fire in 2020: This fire started in the Bay Area and affected parts of California, Oregon, and Washington states. Collectively it burned over 1 million acres of land and killed at least 35 people, with multiple blazes like the North Complex Fire responsible for over 300,000 acres of damage all of which contributed to poor air quality that spread across the west coast and led to hundreds of excess deaths.
5. Camp Fire 2018: This fire started in Butte County on November 8th, 2018 and was not contained until November 25th. it burned $153,336 acres, destroyed nearly 20,000 homes, and killed 85 people.

These figures and their severity have continued to rise year over year in large part due to changes brought about by global warming.

According to the National Interagency Fire Center, over the last 20 years, the 10 years with the largest number of acreage burned coincided with the warmest years on record, with the biggest increases in wildfire damage occurring in years that have the warmest spring and summer months on record.

Wildfire Destruction Statistics

Wildfire, drought, and heat waves have resulted in over 20 billion dollars in economic losses and in 2023, over 10 billion dollars were filed in insurance losses as a result of wildfires.

A Florida study estimated that the state spent $6 million in disaster relief for fires in the last year, with California spending over 43 million in fire suppression, or equal to 1.8% of the total economic loss.

• $1,860: Studies indicate quantified losses of roughly $1,860 per acre in Florida for every wildfire.
• $6,516: Studies indicate quantified losses of roughly $6,516 per acre in California for every wildfire.

In 2023, for example, California had 332,722 acres burned, which, using the metric above, equals $2,167,683,830 in economic losses.

Below are the top 5 states in terms of acres that burned in 2023 from human-caused fires:

1. Nebraska: 178,933
2. Texas: 172,550
3. Oklahoma: 162,490
4. California: 143,265
5. Washington: 124,772

The table below provides additional insight into the number of human-caused fires and lightning-caused fires in each state:

Wildfire Trends Over Time

Over the last 20 years, the number of wildfires rose steadily until around 2013 when figures dropped to a historic low but began to pick up again, increasing around 25% since that time. The list below indicates the 5 years with the highest number of wildfires over the last 20 years:

1. 2006: 96,385
2. 2007: 85,705
3. 2008: 78,979
4. 2009: 78,792
5. 2011: 74,126

Since COVID, figures have dropped by between 15% and 25% each year, though the cost of wildfire suppression has increased.

The table below shows the number of wildfires and acres burned each year for the last twenty years, from 2004 through 2024:

As indicated in the table above, the average number of wildfires per year for the last 20 years has remained relatively the same, but the acres burned as a result of those fires have fluctuated dramatically, with the highest number, over 10 million, in 2025 and again in 2020 though both years had fewer actual fires than years with 9 million acres burned.

Wildfire Prevention

So how can wildfires be prevented?

• Around Your Property
  • Keep trees at least 10 feet away from your house
  • Keep shrubs and leaves removed at least 30 feet from the house
  • Store any firewood or burnables at least 30 feet from the house
• When Outdoors
  • Build a campfire several feet away from tents, shrubs, and any flammable material
  • Keep water next to your fire at all times.
  • Never leave a fire unattended
  • Thoroughly douse a fire when you are done, stir it around with a shovel, and check the coals are cold to the touch before leaving.

If you see signs of a fire, always call for help immediately.

Wildfire Suppression

What are the different ways that wildfires are suppressed?

Wildfires are all managed in the same way: suppression. At no point does the government try to “put out” or extinguish a wildfire directly. Instead they work to extinguish the flammable material or direction a fire goes, suppressing the flames and their reach.

How does this work?

1. Firefighters remove heat by applying a fire retardant or water to the ground. This can be spread from the air with airplanes and helicopters or pumped along the ground with wildland fire engines.
2. Firefighters also remove fuel sources with a combination of trained professionals, volunteer prisoners, and heavy equipment like bulldozers. They will remove vegetation, creating lines around an existing fire, setting controlled fires to remove any sources of fuel on the ground so that a fire cannot jump that line.

What does this cost?

The cost of wildfire suppression has continued to increase over the last 20 years steadily reaching billions of dollars annually. Below are the top 5 most expensive years in terms of wildfire suppression costs:

1. 2021: $4,389,000,000
2. 2022: $3,549,000,000
3. 2023: $3,166,300,000
4. 2018: $3,143,256,000
5. 2017: $2,918,165,000

The table below indicates the federal firefighting costs of suppression only, for the last twenty years:

Does Your Insurance Cover Wildfire Damage?

A standard homeowners insurance policy will typically cover damage from a wildfire including damage to your physical structure, personal belongings, and coverage for living expenses if you cannot live in your home while it is being repaired.

However, there are significant exceptions and limits to this particularly in places that are at a high risk of wildfire damage like California.

If you live in an area where fire damage is a high risk, your insurance company might have restrictions or exclusions so it’s important that you know what your policy limits are.

If your insurance doesn’t cover wildfire damage, you do have a few other options if you need protection like FAIR plans offered at a state level.