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Institute for Crisis, Disaster, and Risk Management Crisis and Emergency Management Newsletter Website |
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October/November
2007
Volume 13 - Number
1/2 |
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Trends
in Wildfires
By Lee Ross The National Interagency Fire
Center is a federally funded entity based in Boise, Idaho dedicated to coordinating
assets for wildland firefighting. The NIFC does not have a central director
or manager but is rather utilized as a central body for eight different agencies
to coordinate and cooperate. Those agencies are: Bureau of Land Management,
Bureau of Indian Affairs, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, National Park
Service, U.S. Forest Service, National Weather Service, U.S. Fire Administration,
National Association of State Foresters and the National Business Center.
The NIFC has compiled statistical information on the number of wildfires and acreage losses since 1960. Its website www.nifc.gov lists these figures and are reproduced below. The trend on this collection of data shows a significant decrease in the number of fires of the past handful of decades and a very recent spike in the number of acres burned. The past three years have seen successive records for the number of acres burned across the country. The high standard set in 2006 is 9,873,745 acres burned. The NIFC has highlighted a handful of noteworthy fires that have taken place over the past 200 years. They include fires witnessed by Lewis & Clark and others in the 19th century including the famous “Great Chicago” fire of 1871. In the 20th century, the NIFC highlights fires that have taken place from coast to coast but primarily in the western part of the country. Many of these fires included fatalities and burned buildings. It also includes the 1988 fire through Yellowstone National Park that burned over 1.5 million acres. Since 2000, the largest reported fire was in 2004 in Alaska with over a million acres burned. And a March 2006 fire in Texas that killed 11 people. Total Wildland Fires and Acres (1960-2006) Year Fires Acres 2006 96,385 9,873,745 2005 66,753 8,689,389 2004 65,461 *8,097,880 2003 63,629 3,960,842 2002 73,457 7,184,712 2001 84,079 3,570,911 2000 92,250 7,393,493 1999 92,487 5,626,093 1998 81,043 2,329,704 1997 66,196 2,856,959 1996 96,363 6,065,998 1995 82,234 1,840,546 1994 79,107 4,073,579 1993 58,810 1,797,574 1992 87,394 2,069,929 1991 75,754 2,953,578 1990 66,481 4,621,621 1989 48,949 1,827,310 1988 72,750 5,009,290 1987 71,300 2,447,296 1986 85,907 2,719,162 1985 82,591 2,896,147 1984 20,493 1,148,409 1983 18,229 1,323,666 1982 174,755 2,382,036 1981 249,370 4,814,206 1980 234,892 5,260,825 1979 163,196 2,986,826 1978 218,842 3,910,913 1977 173,998 3,152,644 1976 241,699 5,109,926 1975 134,872 1,791,327 1974 145,868 2,879,095 1973 117,957 1,915,273 1972 124,554 2,641,166 1971 108,398 4,278,472 1970 121,736 3,278,565 1969 113,351 6,689,081 1968 125,371 4,231,996 1967 125,025 4,658,586 1966 122,500 4,574,389 1965 113,684 2,652,112 1964 116,358 4,197,309 1963 164,183 7,120,768 1962 115,345 4,078,894 1961 98,517 3,036,219 1960 103,387 4,478,188 Statistics were compiled by state and agency prior to 1983. * 2004 fires and acres do not include state lands for North Carolina Source: National Interagency Coordination Center |