A Burning Issue: The Economic Costs of Wildfires: Hearings at the United States Senate
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The economic and environmental costs of wildfires
Wildfires are devastating to families, the economy, and the environment. Wildfires claim lives and livelihoods and can take away all a family’s possessions in seconds.
The greatest cost is the loss of life. Around the world, wildfires can take dozens or even hundreds of lives each year. In 2018, the Camp Fire in Paradise, California killed 88 people, making it one of the deadliest on record. Wildfires in the U.S. have destroyed thousands of homes and businesses (more than 18,000 in Camp Fire). According to the Insurance Information Institute, roughly 3.7 million homes were at risk for extreme wildfires in 2022. Globally, insurance claims due to wildfires have risen to $10 billion per year.
Direct suppression costs incurred by the federal government and paid by the taxpayer are significant.
Wildfires result in substantial adverse effects on human health, healthy ecosystems, and the environment. Fires cause higher exposure to particulate matter, loss of wildlife, vegetation, habitat, and increased greenhouse gas emissions. They also increase soil erosion, which can negatively affect watersheds.
Perhaps the most comprehensive analysis of the economic burden of wildfires is a 2017 report from the National Institute for Standards and Technology. The authors provide a literature review and explanation for calculating intervention costs, prevention, mitigation, suppression, and direct/indirect net losses. They find, “The annualized economic burden from wildfire is estimated to be between $71.1 billion to $347.8 billion ($2016 US). Annualized costs are estimated to range from $7.6 billion to $62.8 billion. Annualized losses are estimated to range from $63.5 billion to $285.0 billion.” Although the NIST study does not include the economic damages of more recent fires, the report is wide-ranging and comprehensive in its literature review and estimates.?
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