In the United States, particularly over the past century, the stewardship of fire has been inadequate—threatening communities, economies, and ecosystems. The early 20th century marked the beginning of the nation’s modern fire crisis. The "Big Burn" of 1910, a wildfire that ravaged over 3 million acres in just two days, demonstrated the destructive power of fire on an unprecedented scale.[i]

It wasn't until 1947 that the U.S. government began addressing the fire problem.[ii] The Truman administration's “White House Conference on Fire Prevention” was the first federal effort to recognize the significance of the situation, spurred by alarming statistics: an average of 10,000 fire-related deaths annually and billions of dollars in damages. This national reckoning led to ongoing research into fire prevention, culminating in the Fire Research and Safety Act of 1968, which funded new strategies to reduce fire risks.[iii]

The release of the “America Burning” report in 1973 marked a pivotal moment. It outlined a century-long struggle with fire in our country, highlighting not only the human toll but also the nation's growing complacency in managing fire hazards. By the 1970s, firefighting had become the deadliest occupation, and fire-related fatalities continued to rise, reinforcing the need for comprehensive fire management policies.[iv]

The frequency and intensity of wildfires have doubled over the past 20 years.[v] Data on fire trends also suggest that extreme fire incidents could rise by up to 14% by the year 2030, 30% by 2050, and 50% by the end of the century.[vi] Recent government action has provided some hope. The Biden administration’s infrastructure bill allocated significant resources for fire risk reduction, and a 10-year plan was launched to protect 50 million acres of high-risk areas near vulnerable communities. However, wildfires now cost the U.S. between $394 and $893 billion annually, equating to 2-4% of the nation's GDP.[vii]

The US fire problem, particularly in California, has been raging for over a century. Addressing it will require more than just policy changes or technological innovation. It will take a sustained, long-term commitment to better stewardship of our natural resources, thoughtful adaptation to changing climates, and continuous investment in fire education, research, safety, and training.

SOME FACTS

• California’s fire problem is long-standing, dating back to the 1700s when Spanish colonial authorities banned indigenous fire management practices, a decision that arguably worsened the state’s vulnerability to massive blazes.[viii]
• In California, 14 of the 20 largest wildfires on record have occurred over the past 15 years.[ix]
• The 2018 wildfire season was the deadliest and most destructive wildfire season on record in California. 2020 was the largest wildfire season recorded in California's modern history with more than 4% of the state's total land burning in a single year. That year, the “August Complex” fire burned over 1 million acres. 2021 saw the destruction of 2.6 million acres.[x]
• As California gets hotter and drier, the skies succumb to blankets of choking smoke that drive Californians inside and endanger workers from agriculture to construction. As of 9/18/24 California has already had 460,153 Total Emergency responses, 6,604 Wildfires, and the state has lost 995,064 Acres to the fire problem.[xi]
• Fires in the 21st century are now burning 22% more often than the highest rate of burning reached in the previous 2,000 years. That previous record was established around 1,100 years ago, during what’s known as the Medieval Climate Anomaly.[xii]

REFERENCES

• [i] The Conversation, “What 2,500 years of wildfire evidence and the extreme fire seasons of 1910 and 2020 tell us about the future of fire in the West.” October 17, 2023
• [ii] Fire Hero, “National Conference on Fire Prevention.” January 3, 1947
• [iii] Fire Rescue 1, “50 years of ‘America Burning’: The history behind the landmark report.” May 1, 2023
• [iv] U.S. Fire Administration, “America Burning: The Report of the National Commission of Fire Prevention and Control.” May 4, 1973
• [v] Nature Ecology & Evolution, “Increasing frequency and intensity of the most extreme wildfires on Earth.” June 24, 2024
• [vi] World Meteorological Organization, “Number of Wildfires Forecast to Rise by 50% by 2100.” Accessed February 22, 2024
• [vii] Joint Economic Committee Democrats, “Climate-exacerbated wildfires cost the U.S. between $394 to $893 billion each year in economic costs and damages.”
• [viii] University of California, “How the Indigenous practice of ‘good fire’ can help our forests thrive.” April 6, 2022
• [ix] World Meteorological Organization, “Number of Wildfires Forecast to Rise by 50% by 2100.” Accessed February 22, 2024
• [x] California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, “Top 20 Largest California Wildfires.” October 2, 2024
• [xi] California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, “Current Emergency Incidents.” Data from October 5, 2024
• [xii] Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), “Rocky Mountain subalpine forests now burning more than any time in recent millennia.” June 14, 2021
• Harry S. Truman Library/Museum Public Papers. “Address at the Opening of the Conference on Fire Prevention.”
• National Institute of Standards and Technology. President’s Conference on Fire Prevention.
• National Fallen Firefighters Foundation. 1947 National Conference on Fire Prevention Papers.
• National Research Council’s Division of Engineering and Industrial Research. The Committee on Fire Research’s Final Report, 1959-1962.
• The Fire Research and Safety Act of 1968. Public Law 90-259.
• Federal Fire Prevention and Control Act of 1974. Briefing Book.
• The Federal Fire Prevention and Control Act of 1974. Public Law 93-498.
• National Emergency Training Center Library. “History of the U.S. Fire Administration.”
• Act Authorizing Appropriations for the National Commission on Fire Prevention and Control. Public Law 95-422.
• Consumer Product Safety Commission. “Revised Residential Fire Loss Estimates for 1980 –1998: National Estimates of Fires, Deaths, Injuries and Property Losses from Non-Incendiary, Non-Suspicious Fires.”
• Congressional Fire Services Institute. “2023 Dr. Anne W. Phillips Award for Leadership in Fire Safety Education.”
• Boston Globe. “Anne Wight Phillips, at 91; surgeon, fire-safety advocate.”

Image: Stockbridge, Nellie; Barnard, T. N. (Thomas Nathan), "Forest Fire Aftermath, 1910 - Placer Creek after the fire. [03]," 1910. The Big Burn Collection, University of Idaho Library Special Collections and Archives.