How States Can Manage the Growing Price of Wildfires

Key findings, recommendations from new report

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Projects: Fiscal Federalism

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How States Can Manage the Growing Price of Wildfires
From a bushfire in 2007 where 2000 Hectares were burnt out.
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Overview

Wildfires in the United States have been getting bigger and more frequent for decades, with a startling shift in recent years: In the period from 2017 to 2021, the average annual acreage burned was 68% larger than the annual average from 1983 to 2016.1 As fires have grown, so has public spending on wildfire management: Combined funding from the U.S. Department of the Interior and the U.S. Forest Service, two of the federal agencies most involved in wildfires, nearly doubled from fiscal year 2011 to 2020 (See Figure 1).2

Determining who is responsible—and who will foot the bill—for wildfire management activities is complicated. States, localities, and the federal government, as well as nongovernmental entities, are all involved in preparing for, fighting, and recovering from fires, as well as reducing the risk of future ones.

Federal Spending on Wildfire Management Has Grown Significantly Since Fiscal Year 2011

Funding over time for wildfire management activities by the U.S. Forest Service, Department of the Interior, and Federal Emergency Management Agency