ClimateMay 31, 2024

🔥 U.S. Wildfires Have Burned Nearly 2 Million Acres in 2024 So Far

A chart tracking the millions of acres burned by U.S. wildfires between 1983–2024, per data from the National Interagency Fire Center.

Wildfires in 2024 have burned 1.9 million acres in the U.S. so far, currently below the 10-year average of 7.2 million acres. However, experts predict a hotter-than-usual summer and autumn, and fire activity is expected to increase as the summer progresses.
In contrast, 2023 wildfires burned approximately 2.7 million acres, the lowest amount recorded since 1998, thanks to an unusually wet Californian summer last year. Nevertheless, in August, a devastating fire struck Maui, destroying the historic town of Lahaina, and killing at least 100 people.

Dataset

Year	Million Acres Burned in the U.S.
1983	1.3
1984	1.1
1985	2.9
1986	2.7
1987	2.4
1988	5.0
1989	1.8
1990	4.6
1991	3.0
1992	2.1
1993	1.8
1994	4.1
1995	1.8
1996	6.1
1997	2.9
1998	1.3
1999	5.7
2000	7.4
2001	3.6
2002	7.2
2003	4.0
2004*	8.1
2005	8.7
2006	9.9
2007	9.3
2008	5.3
2009	5.9
2010	3.4
2011	8.7
2012	9.3
2013	4.3
2014	3.6
2015	10.1
2016	5.5
2017	10.0
2018	8.8
2019	4.7
2020	10.1
2021	7.1
2022	7.6
2023	2.7
2024	1.9**