Wildfires are costing the US economy between $394 billion to $893 billion annually
Wildfires represent a growing threat to the health and well-being of communities across the country.
The United States has already seen a devastating string of catastrophic wildfires this year in places like Maui, the western United States, and Louisiana as these disasters become more and more damaging due to climate change. This continues a string of deadly wildfire years that make the threat of wildfires to people and the broader economy increasingly clear.
The total cost of wildfires in the United States is between $394 billion to $893 billion each year.
This range was calculated by combining estimates from the existing research on the specific costs
related to property damage, direct and indirect deaths and injuries, health impacts from wildfire smoke, income loss, watershed pollution, and a range of other factors. Each of these impacts on their own are very costly. Taken together, they represent disastrous consequences for the country.
