Our 2023 forest fire surprising facts and statistics report is based on the most recent wildfire figures and data from the National Interagency Fire Center Annual Report. The annual report includes wildfire data through the 2022 year end.
The report condenses and summarized the most important and surprising statistics, facts, and trends from the National Interagency Fire Center annual report. We also utilized the source data to create forest fire fighting efficiency metrics by state.
We used our forest fire fighting efficiency calculations to rank the relative efficiency levels of each US state based on source data provided by the National Interagency Fire Center Annual Report.
The sources for all statistics referenced in our report can be found at the bottom of the article. We were very surprised by some of the ranking results and hope that our statistics might help identify areas where individual states can direct more resources to be more efficient when suppressing forest fire incidents.
Forest Fire Statistics Introduction
In 2022, there were 68,988 wildfires reported in the United States. Of the total, 61,499 (89%) of forest fires were caused by humans and 7,489 (11%) of forest fires were caused by lighting.
When you look closer at the statistics, there is wide divergence by geography.
The first section of this report will focus on some of the key wildfire statistics by state in 2022. The second section of this report will focus on national US forest fire statistics and how they compare with prior year periods.
Section 1: 2022 Wildfire Statistics by State
Most Surprising US State Wildfire Statistics
- Alaska ranked 29th for total wildfires by state with 595 wildfires, but ranked first for total number of acres lost in wildfires with 3.1 million acres lost in forest fires in 2022.
- 5 States accounted for 48% of total wildfires in 2022 (Texas, California, North Carolina, Georgia, and Oklahoma).
- North Carolina had the 3rd most forest fires in 2022 with 6,222 wildfires and South Carolina had the 4th least amount of forest fires in 2022 with just 22 wildfires.
- Just 5 States accounted for 73% of total acres lost in wildfires in 2022 (Alaska, New Mexico, Texas, Oregon, Idaho).
- Oregon ranked 1st in forest fires caused by lightning with 974 forest fires caused by lightning in 2022 (13% of total lightning caused forest fires in the US).
- Texas ranked 1st for forest fires caused by humans with 12,031 human caused forest fires in 2022 (19.6% of total human caused forest fires in the US).
Forest Fire Fighting Efficiency Statistics
When forest fires happen, being able to rapidly deploy fire fighters to problem areas and contain wildfires as quickly as possible is critical.
We compared the statistics in 2022 and found a surprising difference in the US states with the most efficient ability to contain forest fires vs the US states that had the least efficient ability to contain forest fires.
We evaluated forest fire fighting efficiency by dividing the total number of acres lost in forest fires with the total number of forest fires. This calculation provided a measure of the average number of acres lost per wildfire occurrence.
5 States with the Highest Number of Acres Lost per Wildfire
- Alaska - Lost 5,228.5 acres for each wildfire that occurred in 2022.
- Hawaii - Lost 5,010.6 acres for each wildfire that occurred in 2022.
- Kansas - Lost 1,354 acres for each wildfire that occurred in 2022.
- New Mexico - Lost 1,149.6 acres for each wildfire that occurred in 2022.
- Idaho - Lost 401.4 acres for each wildfire that occurred in 2022.
5 States with the Lowest Number of Acres Lost per Wildfire
- Rhode Island - Lost .579 acres for each wildfire that occurred in 2022.
- Maine - Lost .582 acres for each wildfire that occurred in 2022.
- Wisconsin - Lost .95 acres for each wildfire that occurred in 2022.
- Vermont - Lost .97 acres for each wildfire that occurred in 2022.
- Ohio - Lost 1 acre for each wildfire that occurred in 2022.
General Wildfire Statistics by US State
The following statistics highlight trends among the US states for number of wildfires, total acres lost in wildfires, and causes of wildfires.
5 States with the Largest Number of Wildfires
- Texas - 12,571 forest fires in 2022; 18.2% of total wildfires.
- California - 7,884 forest fires in 2022; 11.4% of total wildfires.
- North Carolina - 6,222 forest fires in 2022; 9% of total wildfires.
- Georgia - 3,621 forest fires in 2022; 5.2% of total wildfires.
- Oklahoma - 2,811 forest fires in 2022; 4.1% of total wildfires.
5 States with the Least Number of Wildfires
- Hawaii - 5 forest fires in 2022.
- Delaware - 7 forest fires in 2022.
- Iowa - 7 forest fires in 2022.
- South Carolina - 22 forest fires in 2022.
- Illinois - 32 forest fires in 2022.
5 States with the Highest Number of Lightning Caused Forest Fires
- Oregon - 974 forest fires caused by lighting in 2022; 13% of the total.
- Alabama - 794 forest fires caused by lightning in 2022; 10.6% of the total.
- Montana - 1,395 forest fires caused by lightning in 2022; 9.2% of the total.
- Idaho - 579 forest fires caused by lightning in 2022; 7.7% of the total.
- Texas - 540 forest fires caused by lightning in 2022; 7.2% of the total.
Total States with 0 Lightning Caused Forest Fires
- Delaware - 0 forest fires caused by lightning in 2022.
- Iowa - 0 forest fires caused by lightning in 2022.
- Illinois - 0 forest fires caused by lightning in 2022.
- Indiana - 0 forest fires caused by lightning in 2022.
- Rhode Island - 0 forest fires caused by lightning in 2022.
- Missouri - 0 forest fires caused by lightning in 2022.
- Connecticut - 0 forest fires caused by lightning in 2022.
- Ohio - 0 forest fires caused by lightning in 2022.
- Wisconsin - 0 forest fires caused by lightning in 2022.
- New Jersey - 0 forest fires caused by lightning in 2022.
5 States with the Highest Number of Human Caused Forest Fires
- Texas - 12,031 forest fires caused by humans in 2022; 19.6% of the total.
- California - 7,585 forest fires caused by humans in 2022; 12.3% of the total.
- North Carolina - 6,166 forest fires caused by humans in 2022; 10% of the total.
- Georgia - 3,617 forest fires caused by humans in 2022; 5.9% of the total.
- Oklahoma - 2,807 forest fires caused by humans in 2022; 4.6% of the total.
5 States with the Least Number of Human Caused Forest Fires
- Hawaii - 4 forest fires caused by humans in 2022.
- Iowa - 7 forest fires caused by humans in 2022.
- Delaware - 7 forest fires caused by humans in 2022.
- South Carolina - 21 forest fires caused by humans in 2022.
- Illinois - 32 forest fires caused by humans in 2022.
5 States with the Highest Number of Acreage Lost in Forest Fires
- Alaska - 3,110,976 acres lost in forest fires in 2022.
- New Mexico - 859,906 acres lost in forest fires in 2022.
- Texas - 671,800 acres lost in forest fires in 2022.
- Oregon - 456,082 acres lost in forest fires in 2022.
- Idaho - 436,733 acres lost in forest fires in 2022.
5 States with the Least Number of Acreage Lost in Forest Fires
- Rhode Island - 44 acres lost in forest fires in 2022.
- Delaware - 79 acres lost in forest fires in 2022.
- Vermont - 83 acres lost in forest fires in 2022.
- Iowa - 288 acres lost in forest fires in 2022.
- Illinois - 298 acres lost in forest fires in 2022.
Full List of Wildfire Statistics by State in 2022
The following list highlights the number of wildfires that occurred in each state as well as the amount of damaged acres that occurred following the wildfires.
The third column represents the amount of damaged acres that occurred per wildfire. This statistic is an indication of the relative efficiency that each state was able to suppress a wildfire when it occurred.
States with a high number of damaged acres per wildfire may have faced an unusually bad wildfire in a given year. A high number may also indicate that a state was just not as efficient with utilizing its firefighting resources compared with other states.
States with high relative amounts of damaged acres per fire represent higher potential risk for damage to personal property and wildlife within the forests.
|
State |
Number of Wildfires |
Damaged Acres |
Damaged Acres / per Wildfire |
|
Alabama |
2,710 |
40,975 |
15.1 |
|
Alaska |
595 |
3,110,976 |
5,228.5 |
|
Arizona |
1,432 |
124,165 |
86.7 |
|
Arkansas |
1,903 |
39,028 |
20.5 |
|
California |
7,884 |
309,287 |
39.2 |
|
Colorado |
835 |
45,732 |
54.8 |
|
Connecticut |
150 |
347 |
2.3 |
|
Delaware |
7 |
79 |
11.3 |
|
Florida |
2,784 |
164,774 |
59.2 |
|
Georgia |
3,621 |
25,017 |
6.9 |
|
Hawaii |
5 |
25,053 |
5,010.6 |
|
Idaho |
1,088 |
436,733 |
401.4 |
|
Illinois |
32 |
298 |
9.3 |
|
Indiana |
49 |
1,643 |
33.5 |
|
Iowa |
7 |
288 |
41.1 |
|
Kansas |
67 |
84,015 |
1,254 |
|
Kentucky |
1,280 |
59,199 |
46.2 |
|
Louisiana |
1,259 |
24,475 |
47 |
|
Maine |
730 |
425 |
.582 |
|
Maryland |
117 |
3,139 |
26.8 |
|
Massachusetts |
1,192 |
1,756 |
1.5 |
|
Michigan |
376 |
3,522 |
9.4 |
|
Minnesota |
713 |
3,715 |
5.2 |
|
Mississippi |
1,980 |
53,170 |
26.9 |
|
Missouri |
136 |
4,968 |
36.5 |
|
Montana |
2,087 |
137,509 |
65.9 |
|
Nebraska |
568 |
76,534 |
134.7 |
|
Nevada |
506 |
58,402 |
115.4 |
|
New Hampshire |
103 |
381 |
3.7 |
|
New Jersey |
1,165 |
15,532 |
13.3 |
|
New Mexico |
748 |
859,906 |
1,149.6 |
|
New York |
162 |
1,313 |
8.1 |
|
North Carolina |
6,222 |
28,851 |
4.6 |
|
North Dakota |
111 |
1,509 |
13.6 |
|
Ohio |
724 |
3,063 |
1.0 |
|
Oklahoma |
2,811 |
385,133 |
137 |
|
Oregon |
2,177 |
456,082 |
215.4 |
|
Pennsylvania |
951 |
2,588 |
2.7 |
|
Rhode Island |
76 |
44 |
.579 |
|
South Carolina |
22 |
677 |
30.8 |
|
South Dakota |
527 |
42,148 |
80 |
|
Tennessee |
1,225 |
15,059 |
12.3 |
|
Texas |
12,571 |
671,800 |
53.4 |
|
Utah |
945 |
27,245 |
28.8 |
|
Vermont |
86 |
83 |
.97 |
|
Virginia |
558 |
9,956 |
17.8 |
|
Washington |
1,492 |
173,659 |
116.4 |
|
West Virginia |
893 |
20,275 |
22.7 |
|
Wisconsin |
923 |
881 |
.95 |
|
Wyoming |
443 |
25,766 |
58.2 |
|
Total |
68,988 |
7,609,560 |
110.3 |
Section 2: US Wildfire Statistics National Trends
Total Number of Wildfires in 2022 vs 2021
- 68,988 United States wildfires were reported in 2022 vs 58,985 US wildfires in 2021.
- 2022 US wildfires increased by 17% compared to 2021 US wildfires.
Large Wildfires vs Total Wildfires
- 1,289 large wildfires were reported in the US in 2022.
- Large wildfires represented 1.9% of the 68,988 total US wildfires in 2022.
*Large wildfires mean that the fire burned a minimum of 100 acres of timber.
Total Number of Wildfires in 2022 vs Historical Records
- In 2022, there were 68,988 total wildfires in the United States.
- The record number of wildfires occurred in 2006 when 96,385 wildfires occurred.
- 2006 US wildfires of 96,385 exceeded 2022 wildfires by 39.7%.
Total Number of Acreage Consumed by Wildfires 2022 vs 2021
- In 2022, US wildfires destroyed 7.6 million acres compared to 7.1 million acres in 2021.
- 2022 US wildfires destroyed 6.3% more acres compared to 2021.
2022 Acres Consumed by Wildfire vs Historical Records
- The record year for acres consumed by wildfire occurred in 2015 when 10.1 million acres were consumed by wildfire compared to 7.6 million acres consumed in 2022.
- 2015 acres consumed by wildfire exceeded 2022 by 33.6%.
2022 Structures Destroyed by US Wildfire
- 2,717 structures were destroyed by US wildfires in 2022.
- 1,261 residences were destroyed by wildfires (47% of total).
- 1,294 minor structures were destroyed (49% of total).
- 91 mixed commercial structures were destroyed (4% of total).
2022 State with Largest Number of Structures Destroyed by US Wildfires
- California lost 755 structures due to wildfires in 2022.
- California lost structures represented 28% of total US structures destroyed by wildfire in 2022.
Wildfire Statistics & Data Sources:
Tank Retailer is a supplier of portable water tanks used by state and federal governments to help fight and control forest fires.