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1 1 (October 4, 2021)

handle is hein.crs/govehni0001 and id is 1 raw text is: Info nfnQ the h~gi tiv eb rnce 1~14 Updated October 4, 2021 Wildfire Statistics Wildfires are unplanned 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 protectedby federal agencies under cooperative agreements. The federal government is responsible forresponding to wildfires that begin on federal lands. The Forest Service (FS)-within the U.S. Department of Agriculture-carries out wildfire management andresponse across the 193 million acres of the National Forest System(NFS). The Department of the Interior (DOI) manages wildfire response for more than 400 million acres ofnationalparks, wildlife refuges and preserves, otherpublic lands, andIndianreservations. Wildfire statistics help to illustratepastU.S. wildfire activity. Nationwide data compiled by the National Interagency Coordination Center (NICC) indicate that the number of annual wildfires is variable but has decreased slightly overthelast 30years andthe numberofacres affected annually, while also variable, generally has increased(see Figure 1). Since 2000, an annual average of 70,600 wildfires has burned an annual average of 7.0 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 average). Table 1. Annual Wildfires and Acres Burned 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 Number of Fires (thousands) Federal 12.6 15.2 12.5 10.9 14A FS 5.7 6.6 5.6 5.3 6.7 DOI 6.8 7.3 7.0 5.3 7.6 Other <0.1 1.2 0.1 0.2 <0.1 Nonfederal 55.2 56A 45.6 39.6 44.6 Total 67.7 71.5 58.1 50.5 59.0 Acres Burned (millions) Federal 3.0 6.3 4.6 3.1 7.1 FS 1.2 2.9 2.3 0.6 4.8 DOI 1.7 3.3 2.3 2.3 2.3 Other <0.1 <0.1 <0.1 <0.1 <0.1 Nonfederal 2.5 3.7 4.1 1.6 3.1 Total 5.5 10.0 8.8 4.7 10.1 Source: National InteragencyCoordinationCenter (NICC) Wildland Fire Summary and Statistics annual reports. Notes: FS = Forest Service; DOI = Department of the Interior. Column totals may not add due to rounding. Figure 1. Annual Wildfires and Acres Burned, 1991-2020 twes, thousands Acres buned, rndbcns Fr201 to22,teewr1a2vrg f6,0 10 (e F4 20 2 in Clifonia.Neary haf ofthe Acrespatereo Source: NICCWildland FireSumaryand Statisticsannualreports. Note: Data reflect wildland fires and acres burned nationwide, including wildland fires on federal and nonfederal lands. From 2011 to 2020, there were an average of 62,805 wildfires annually and an average of7.5million acres imp acted annually. In 2020, 58,950 wildfires burned 10.1 million acres, the s econd-most acreage imp acted in a year (see Figure 2) since 1960; nearly 40% of these acres were in California. Nearly halfof the acres impactedwere on NFS lands. These officialfigures fromICC reflect downward revisionsfromearlierreporteddatafor2020. As ofOctober 4,2021, over 46,500 wildfires have impacted over5.9 million acres. Figure 2. Top Five Years with Largest Wildfire Acreage Burned Since I 960 Year Acres burned (millions) Number of Fires 2015 1.3 h 2020 1.2 y 2006 9.6.4% 2007 Source: NICC Wildland Fire Summaryand Statisticsannual reports. Note: Numberof fires in thousands. The number offires and acreage burned are indicators of the annual level of wildfire activity. However, these numbers may be misleading with respect to their impact on human developmentorcommunities since many fires may occur in large, relatively undeveloped areas. Acreage burned also does notindicate the severity ofthe wildfire, https://crsreports.congress.gov

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