Taxpayer Resources on Wildfire Spending 

Dangerous and costly wildfires have become a growing problem exacerbated by climate change. Over the last three decades, they have consumed larger areas of grasslands and forests. The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) found that from 2017 to 2021, wildfires burned an average of 8 million acres annually in the US. This figure is more than double the average from 1987 to 1991. Consequently, federal spending on wildfires have also ballooned.

The federal government plays a crucial role in both preventing and fighting wildfires, and in aiding communities rebuild after wildfire events. Federal wildfire spending comes in many forms and is spread throughout numerous different federal agencies and departments. The government is directly responsible for wildfire response and management across roughly 650 million acres of federal lands in the U.S., much of which is overseen by the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) and Department of the Interior (DOI). In addition to managing federal lands, the government also extends support for wildfire prevention, suppression, and recovery on nonfederal lands.

Without strategic investment in mitigation, disaster response costs, including those for wildfires, will continue to rise. Looser restrictions on wildfire spending can also encourage more private development in the Wilderness Urban Interface (WUI), one of the principal drivers of fire suppression costs. Development in the WUI is in part a response to housing affordability issues. It is a national problem, and while much of the attention has been on the West, the problem is at least as great in the East.

Adopting intelligent, taxpayer-friendly reforms can keep more people out of harm’s way, promote smarter construction, and strengthen communities.