Alaska saw the largest area burned by wildfires across the United States in 2022. That year, about 595 individual wildfires burned in the northern state ravishing over 3.1 million acres. Alaska accounted for roughly 41 percent of all acres burned due to wildland fires in the U.S.
Fire season 2021 and California’s wildfire suppression costs
As one of the most wildfire-prone states in the country, California spends a significant amount of money on their suppression. Estimates suggest wildfire suppression expenditure in California climbed to 1.2 billion U.S. dollars in the fiscal year ending June 2022. The fiscal year, which includes the summer and fall months of 2021, was among the most devastating fire seasons on record, with that year’s Dixie fire becoming the second-largest California wildfire by acres burned. The Dixie fire was responsible for over 963,000 acres burned across the state that year.
Wildfire causes
Wildfires are uncontrolled fires burning across any type of combustible vegetation such as grass- and brushland, forests, and agricultural fields. They are also referred to as wildland fires, forest fires, or bushfires, with the latter term particularly common in Australia. Wildfires regularly occur on all continents of the world, except for Antarctica, but are particularly common in dry regions with dense vegetation. As the rise in average global temperatures is changing weather patterns and resulting in more and more countries being affected by dry, hot weather conditions, the severity and rapid spread of wildfires have increased in recent years. The most common causes of wildfires are natural phenomena such as lightning strikes as well as human activity. The area burned due to human-caused wildfires in the U.S. surpassed 3.3 million acres in 2022.
Acres burned by wildfires in the United States in 2022, by state
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National Interagency Fire Center. (January 26, 2023). Acres burned by wildfires in the United States in 2022, by state [Graph]. In Statista. Retrieved October 02, 2024, from https://www.statista.com/statistics/217072/number-of-fires-and-acres-burned-due-to-us-wildfires/
National Interagency Fire Center. "Acres burned by wildfires in the United States in 2022, by state." Chart. January 26, 2023. Statista. Accessed October 02, 2024. https://www.statista.com/statistics/217072/number-of-fires-and-acres-burned-due-to-us-wildfires/
National Interagency Fire Center. (2023). Acres burned by wildfires in the United States in 2022, by state. Statista. Statista Inc.. Accessed: October 02, 2024. https://www.statista.com/statistics/217072/number-of-fires-and-acres-burned-due-to-us-wildfires/
National Interagency Fire Center. "Acres Burned by Wildfires in The United States in 2022, by State." Statista, Statista Inc., 26 Jan 2023, https://www.statista.com/statistics/217072/number-of-fires-and-acres-burned-due-to-us-wildfires/
National Interagency Fire Center, Acres burned by wildfires in the United States in 2022, by state Statista, https://www.statista.com/statistics/217072/number-of-fires-and-acres-burned-due-to-us-wildfires/ (last visited October 02, 2024)
Acres burned by wildfires in the United States in 2022, by state [Graph], National Interagency Fire Center, January 26, 2023. [Online]. Available: https://www.statista.com/statistics/217072/number-of-fires-and-acres-burned-due-to-us-wildfires/