![]() ![]() Land area burned by wildfires varies by state. ![]() Of the total area burned each year from 1984 to 2020, the proportion of burned land suffering severe damage has ranged from 5 to 23 percent (see "high" category in Figure 3).18 This shift-combined with other ongoing changes in temperature, drought, and snowmelt-may have contributed to warmer, drier conditions that have fueled wildfires in parts of the western United States. The late 1990s were a period of transition in certain climate cycles that tend to shift every few decades.The largest increases have occurred during the spring and summer months (see Figure 6). This period coincides with many of the warmest years on record nationwide (see the U.S. According to National Interagency Fire Center data, of the 10 years with the largest acreage burned, all have occurred since 2004, including the peak year in 2015 (see Figure 2). The extent of area burned by wildfires each year appears to have increased since the 1980s.The data do not show an obvious trend during this time. Compiled data from the Forest Service suggest that the actual total may be even higher for the first few years of nationwide data collection that can be compared. Since 1983, the National Interagency Fire Center has documented an average of approximately 70,000 wildfires per year (see Figure 1). ![]()
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