Projecting future fiscal risks from wildfire in the U.S.

Wildfire plays a key role in forest and grassland ecosystems and affects the goods and services they provide, such as carbon sequestration, wildlife habitat, recreation, and forest products. As the climate changes, wildfire activity will change, as will fire suppression.

The White House Office of Management and Budget includes projections of future wildfire area and suppression expenditures in its comprehensive Climate Risk Exposure assessment, which covers several areas of climate change impact. Researchers from the USDA Forest Service provided this information, using state-of-the-art climate data to develop new projections of future wildfire areas burned, along with increases in federal government spending needed to suppress those fires.

Researchers projected the area wildfires burn on federal lands to more than triple by the end of this century, as compared to recent annual averages. Furthermore, across all climate scenarios, median federal spending for wildfire suppression is projected to rise by 186%, translating into a $3.7 billion increase compared to historic spending over the same time frame.

As the Forest Service implements its 10-year Wildfire Crisis Strategy to increase fuels reduction and forest health treatments, the projections provide context for that work and can help ensure that our nation’s forests and grasslands are resilient in a changing climate.

Additional links

• Fighting future fires - Forest Service feature story