U.S. on track to see fewest wildfires in two decades
California is in the midst of its third consecutive mild wildfire season, Triple-I reports.
In the U.S., wildfire frequency and severity are on pace to be at the lowest level in two decades despite record-breaking wildfires across the other parts of the Northern Hemisphere, such as Canada, the Insurance Information Institute (Triple-I) reported.
From January-September 2023, around 20,000 acres of the U.S. were destroyed by wildfires. Since 2000, no year has seen less than 30,000 acres burn, according to Triple-I data. So far this year, there have been fewer than 45,000 wildfires reported nationwide.
California, which has become synonymous with these risks, has seen three mild wildfire seasons. Triple-I reported the state typically accounts for around 10% of the annual total of acres burned in the U.S., with this number reaching as high as 40% in recent years. In 2022, California reached an all-time low and accounted for just 4.5% of total acres burned.
Further, the Triple-I noted the total number of U.S. wildfires has generally been on the decline during the past decade.
However, insured losses from wildfires have been growing during the past 30 years as more people move into regions designated as the “wildland-urban interface” (WUI). Swiss Re defines WUI as transitionary areas between unoccupied and developed land where human activity and buildings converge with wildlands and vegetative fuel sources.
Around one-third of the U.S. population now lives in a WUI, putting 46 million homes with an estimated value of $1.3 trillion at risk, according to Triple-I. This shift helps explain why insured losses from wildfires have grown, despite an overall decline in the number of wildfires.
“Insured losses are influenced by the extent of development in the wildland-urban interface,” Dale Porfilio, chief insurance officer at Triple-I, said in a release. “Developers, homebuyers, lenders, and other stakeholders must seek to understand and respond appropriately to the relationship between a property’s WUI proximity and its risks.”
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