Of the various types of wildfires, including forest, brush, and urban fires, it is urban wildfires that generally consume more structures, more vehicles, and more industrial items, and are in much closer proximity to inhabited structures, which means they are the type of fires adjusters would most likely see more of. As such, urban wildfire smoke is generally hotter when it contacts structures and contains more chemicals, making them problematic.
A History of Wildfires
The National Geographic reports that "On average, more than 100,000 wildfires, also called wildland fires or forest fires, clear 4 million to 5 million acres (1.6 million to 2 million hectares) of land in the U.S. every year. In recent years, wildfires have burned up to 9 million acres (3.6 million hectares) of land. A wildfire moves at speeds of up to 14 miles an hour (23 kilometers an hour), consuming everything (trees, brush, homes, even humans) in its path."
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