Climate-Driven Wildfire Costs Head Toward $800 Billion

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Wildfire activity, particularly in the Western states, has surged over the last month, primarily because of heat and drought. As of this point, there are 207 active wildfires in the US.

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Based on data from the National Interagency Fire Center, it is too early to tell if this year’s activity will reach a record. The fire activity for 2023 was below average, with about 57,000 fires and 2.6 million acres burned. The two previous years were more active. In each, over 7 million acres were burned.

The “supposition” cost of fires last year was $3.2 billion. Of this, $2.7 billion was spent on Forest Service activities.

Another study puts the cost of wildfires in the US much higher. However, it includes

expenses from property damage, direct and indirect deaths and injuries, health impacts from wildfire smoke, income loss, watershed pollution, and several less expensive events. The total from this analysis was between $394 billion and $893 billion.

Drougth Contribution

The study of these higher costs comes from the “Joint Economic Committee–Democrats,” which comprises Senate members. The largest single cost was “diminished real estate value” at $337 billion. It was followed by “exposure to wildfire smoke” at $203 billion.

These dollar figures will only rise as the climate increases drought levels and extreme heat. Heat has set records across most of the nation. In areas of the West, daily highs have broken records and topped 110 degrees F in some places.

This year’s costs will almost certainly be at the high end of the Senate committee’s range.