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1 1 (November 03, 2020)

handle is hein.crs/govdcle0001 and id is 1 raw text is: * ~ ~ tiE>sct~rch $3c ~ .................. Updated November 3, 2020 Wildfire Statistics Wildfires are unplanned and unwanted fires, including lightning-caused fires, unauthorized human-caused fires, and escaped prescribed fire projects. States are responsible for responding to wildfires that begin on nonfederal (state, local, and private) lands, except for lands protected by federal agencies under cooperative agreements. The federal government is responsible for responding to wildfires that begin on federal lands. The Forest Service (FS) within the U.S. Department of Agriculture carries out wildfire management and response across the 193 million acres of the National Forest System. The Department of the Interior (DOI) manages wildfire response for more than 400 million acres of national parks, wildlife refuges and preserves, other public lands, and Indian reservations. Wildfire statistics help to illustrate past U.S. wildfire activity. Nationwide data compiled by the National Interagency Fire Center (NIFC) indicate that the number of annual wildfires is variable but has decreased slightly over the last 30 years and that the number of acres burned annually, while also variable, generally has increased (see Figure 1). Every year since 2000, an average of 71,300 wildfires burned an average of 6.9 million acres. This figure is more than double the average annual acreage burned in the 1990s (3.3 million acres), although a greater number of fires occurred annually in the 1990s (78,600 on average). Table I. Annual Wildfires and Acres Burned 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 Number of Fires (thousands) Federal 13.8 12.6 15.2 12.5 10.9 FS 7.1 5.7 6.6 5.6 5.3 DOI 6.6 6.8 7.3 7.0 5.3 Nonfederal 54.4 55.2 56.4 45.6 39.6 Total 68.2 67.7 71.5 58.1 50.5 Acres Burned (millions) Federal 7.41 3.00 6.3 4.6 3.1 FS 1.92 1.25 2.9 2.3 0.6 DOI 5.47 1.70 3.3 2.3 2.3 Nonfederal 2.72 2.51 3.7 4.1 1.6 Total 10.13 5.51 10.0 8.8 4.7 Source: National Interagency Fire Center (NIFC). Notes: Federal includes fires that began on land managed by the Forest Service (FS), Department of the Interior (DOI), and other federal agencies (not listed). Nonfederal includes all other lands. Column totals may not add due to rounding. Figure I. Annual Wildfires and Acres Burned (1990-20 19) Fires <f. Source: National Interagency Fire Center (NIFC). Note: Data reflect wildland fires and acres burned nationwide, including wildland fires on federal and nonfederal lands. Over the past 10 years, there were an average of 64,100 wildfires annually and an average of 6.8 million acres burned annually. In 2019, 50,477 wildfires burned 4.7 million acres nationwide, below the annual average for both statistics. More than half of the acreage burned in 2019 was in Alaska (2.5 million acres), which was the only area that experienced significantly above-average wildfire activity for the year. The 2015 fire season was the largest on record, with 10.1 million acres burned (see Figure 2); more than half of these acres were in Alaska (5.1 million acres). As of November 2, 2020, over 47,500 wildfires have burned nearly 8.6 million acres this year. Figure 2. Top Five Years with Largest Wildfire Acreage Burned Since 1960 Year Acres burned (mlions? Number of Fires 2015 2017 2006 2007 2012 Source: NIFC. The number of fires and acreage burned are indicators of the annual level of wildfire activity, but they may be misleading, since many fires may occur in large, relatively undeveloped areas, with very little impact to human development or communities. Acreage burned also does not indicate the severity of the wildfire or the degree of impact to the forest, soils, or any other ecological effects. hup-------------------.-,'*g-v

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