Undeniable Facts

Fires are becoming larger and more deadly.

From 2015–2025, the US experienced an increase in major fires, with higher total damages and fatalities than the prior decade of 2005–2015. Between 2015–2025, the reported number of fires per year ranged from about 1.3 to 1.5 million, with fire-related deaths averaging around 3,400–3,700 annually and total property losses often exceeding $20 billion per year—sometimes reaching over $30 billion for single years with extreme wildfires. For 2005–2015, fire frequency trended downward with annual deaths between about 2,800 and 3,300, and property damage totals often ranged between $10–14 billion annually before the dramatic rises of the following decade.

https://www.usfa.fema.gov/statistics/

• 1 in 12 homes in California are at high risk of burning in a wildfire. Chico Enterprise-Record 8/2019

• “If June is any indication, 2024 looks to be a busy fire year,” Cal Fire officials said in a news release issued Wednesday. Cal Fire says it has registered 2,156 wildfires year to date, which are responsible for burning more than 89,500 acres and destroying at least 22 structures.          CalFire 6/2024

The total cost of wildfires in the United States is between $394 billion to $893 billion each year.                                                                                     10/2023 Joint Economic Committee CHAIRMAN – SENATOR MARTIN HEINRICH