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1 1 (May 31, 2019)

handle is hein.crs/govzwz0001 and id is 1 raw text is: Congressional Research Service ~Informingi the legislative debate since 1914 Updated May 31, 2019 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, has generally increased (see Figure 1). Every year since 2000, an average of 72,400 wildfires burned an average of 7.0 million acres. This figure is nearly 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 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 Number of Fires (thousands) Federal 13.0 13.8 12.6 15.2 12.5 FS 6.8 7.1 5.7 6.6 5.6 DOI 6.1 6.6 6.8 7.3 7.0 Nonfederal 50.6 54.4 55.2 56.4 45.6 Total 63.6 68.2 67.7 71.5 58.1 Acres Burned (millions) Federal 2.15 7.41 3.00 6.3 4.6 FS 0.87 1.92 1.25 2.9 2.3 DOI 1.24 5.47 1.70 3.3 2.3 Nonfederal 1.4 2.72 2.51 3.7 4.1 Total 3.60 10.13 5.51 10.0 8.8 Source: 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 (1988-2017) Fires thousands 120 Acres burned millions 12 .4 a) r co rl r~l w'4 N N N N Source: NIFC. Note: Data reflect wildland fires and acres burned nationwide, including wildland fires on federal and nonfederal lands. Over the past 10 years, there was an average of 67,000 wildfires annually and an average of 7.0 million acres burned annually. In 2018, 58,083 wildfires burned 8.8 million acres nationwide, the sixth-largest figure on record in terms of acreage burned. The 2015 fire season was the largest, with 10.1 million acres burned (see Figure 2). More than half of these acres were in Alaska (5.1 million acres). As of May 24, 2019, 13,422 wildfires have burned 243,163 acres this year. Figure 2. Top Five Years with Largest Wildfire Acreage Burned Since 1960 Year A.res burned (millions) Number of Fires 2015 6. 2017 2006 9. 2007 2012 6 Source: NIFC. Although the number of fires and acreage burned are indicators of the annual level of wildfire activity, they may also be misleading, since many fires may occur in areas that are large and relatively undeveloped, 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. In 2018, 53% of the nationwide acreage burned by wildfires was on federal lands (4.6 million acres; see Table 1). The https:i/csreports.cong ressgov

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