Facts + Statistics: Wildfires

Wildland fires

As many as 90 percent of wildland fires in the United States are caused by people, according to the U.S. Department of Interior. Some human-caused fires result from campfires left unattended, the burning of debris, downed power lines, negligently discarded cigarettes and intentional acts of arson. The remaining 10 percent are started by lightning or lava.

According to Verisk’s 2019 Wildfire Risk Analysis 4.5 million U.S. homes were identified at high or extreme risk of wildfire, with more than 2 million in California alone. 

Wildfires by year

2019: The 2019 wildfire season has not been as active as 2018. However, in late October significant fires broke out throughout California, leading to the evacuation of over 200,000 people and the declaration of a state of emergency.

From January 1 to November 22, 2019 there were 46,706 wildfires compared with 52,080 wildfires in the same period in 2018, according to the National Interagency Fire Center (NIFC). About 4.6 million acres were burned in the 2019 period, compared with 8.5 million acres in 2018.

The Kincade Fire in Sonoma County ignited on October 23, and has burned over 76,000 acres—an area more than twice the size of the city of San Francisco. According to CalFire, more than 189 buildings have been destroyed, and 39 more were damaged. Some 90,000 buildings across an expanding evacuation zone are threatened.

The Getty Fire in Los Angeles broke out on October 28. The National Weather Service issued an Extreme Red Flag Warning for the area due to what could be the strongest Santa Ana winds ever seen, with wind gusts up to 80 miles an hour. Over seven thousand residences have been placed in a mandatory evacuation zone.

2018: In 2018 there were 58,083 wildfires, compared with 71,499 wildfires in 2017, according to the NIFC. About 8.8 million acres were burned in 2018, compared with 10 million in 2017.

The Mendocino Complex Fire broke out on July 27 in Northern California and grew to be the largest fire in state history with 459,123 acres burned.

The Carr Fire, which broke out on July 23 in Northern California, is the 8th most destructive fire in the state’s history. Eight fatalities are attributed to the fire, and 1,614 structures were destroyed. Loss estimates are not yet available from the Property Claims Services (PCS) unit of ISO. The Insurance Information Institute estimates that insured losses from the Carr Fire totaled between $1 billion and $1.5 billion in dollars when it occurred.

According to the California Department of Insurance (Cal DOI) the Mendocino Complex and Carr Fires collectively resulted in 8,900 homes, 329 businesses, and 800 private autos, commercial vehicles, and other types of property damaged or destroyed. More than 10,000 claims were filed.

The Camp Fire broke out in Butte County, Northern California on November 8 and became the deadliest and most destructive fire on record in the state. According to Cal Fire statistics 85 people perished. About 153,000 acres were burned and 18,800 structures were destroyed. The fire burned almost 14,000 residences and about 530 commercial structures. The remainder were minor structures. Loss estimates are not yet available from the Property Claims Services (PCS) unit of ISO. The Insurance Information Institute estimates that insured losses from the Camp Fire totaled between $8.5 billion and $10.5 billion in dollars when it occurred.

Further south two other major fires, the Hill and Woolsey Fires started on November 8. The Woolsey Fire burned about 97,000 acres according to Cal Fire. It destroyed about 1,600 structures and killed three people. Loss estimates are not yet available from the Property Claims Services (PCS) unit of ISO. The Insurance Information Institute estimates that insured losses from the Woolsey Fire totaled between $3 billion and $5 billion in dollars when it occurred. The Hill Fire burned about 4,500 acres and destroyed four structures.

Cal DOI said that as of April 2019 insurance claims from the Camp, Hill and Woolsey Fires in November 2018 were already over $12 billion.

2017: In 2017, there were 71,499 wildfires, compared to 65,575 wildfires in 2016, according to the NIFC. About 10 million acres were burned in 2017, compared with 5.4 million in 2016. The number of acres burned in 2017 was higher than the 10-year average.

Beginning October 6 and continuing until October 25, eight counties in Northern California were hit by a devastating outbreak of wildfires which led to at least 23 fatalities, burned 245,000 acres and destroyed over 8,700 structures.

In December five major fires in Southern California destroyed more than a thousand homes and buildings. One of the fires, the Thomas Fire, became the largest wildfire ever recorded in California up to 2017. In 2018 the Mendocino Complex Fire grew to surpass the acreage burned in the Thomas Fire. Loss estimates are not yet available from the Property Claims Services (PCS) unit of ISO. The Insurance Information Institute (I.I.I.) estimates that insured losses from the Tubbs Fire totaled between $7.5 billion and $9.7 billion in dollars when it occurred. The Atlas Fire resulted in insured losses of $2.5 billion to $4.5 billion and the Thomas Fire resulted in insured losses of $1.5 billion to $3.5 billion, according to the I.I.I. The blazes were the costliest wildfires in the United States up to 2017. Cal DOI reported in January 2018 that insurance claims payouts from the October to December fires added up to almost $12 billion, which made the 2017 fire season the costliest on record; however preliminary estimates for 2018 indicate that it most likely surpassed the 2017 record.

Annual Number of Acres Burned in Wildland Fires, 1980-2018

 

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* 2004 fires and acres do not include state lands for North Carolina.

Source: National Interagency Fire Center.

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FireLine®, Verisk’s wildfire risk management tool, assesses wildfire risk at the address level using advanced remote sensing and digital mapping technology. The three primary factors considered in analyzing wildfire risk are distribution of vegetative fuel, steepness of slope and degree of access for firefighting equipment. FireLine assigns a wildfire hazard score for each factor plus a cumulative score, on a scale from negligible to extreme risk. The following chart ranks the most wildfire-prone western U.S. states by high to extreme wildfire risk as of 2019. According to Verisk estimates, more than 4.5 million U.S. properties are at high to extreme wildfire risk.

Wildfire Lossses In The United States, 2009-2018 (1)

(2018 $ millions)

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(1) Adjusted for inflation by Munich Re based on the Consumer Price Index.

Source: © 2019 Munich Re, NatCatSERVICE.

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