Humans have caused nearly 85% of all U.S. wildfires in 2024, according to the National Interagency Fire Center (NIFC). So far this year, 38,093 wildfires have burned 7,337,303 acres around the country. As of Thursday Sep. 26, there were 34 large active wildfires in the U.S. under full suppression strategy management. Active wildfires have burned 1,620,352 acres, the data showed, with nearly 10,450 wildland firefighters and support personnel assigned to incidents, including 11 complex and one type 1 incident management teams, 191 crews, 428 engines and 66 helicopters. "Given the very high tempo and scale of national fire activity over the past few months, there have been delays in reconciling actual acreage burned with entries into the reporting systems, especially from areas with large fires and dynamic fire activity," the NIFC said. "Adjustments are occurring as the accuracy of fire locations, mapping, and final fire reporting are reconciled." Meanwhile, Allstate customers in California were recently hit with a 34.1% rate hike to their homeowners' premiums. The increase is expected to impact over 350,000 policyholders statewide this November. In August 2024, roughly 17,000 Liberty Mutual customers in California were told they would lose their fire insurance. Subsidiary Liberty Mutual Fire Insurance Company is canceling dwelling fire insurance for the policyholders, after the company stopped writing the policies under the brand in California (and other states) in 2023. The slideshow above illustrates states with the most homes at high-risk of wildfire damage, according to Guidewire HazardHub. See also:

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Joe Toppe

Joe Toppe serves as managing editor of PropertyCasualty360.com. Joe is also a father of three, an author, and longtime lover of baseball.