Wildland fires
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The Firewise Communities Program encourages local solutions for safety by involving homeowners in taking individual responsibility for preparing their homes for the risk of wildfire. Firewise is sponsored by the NFPA and the USDA Forest Service.
Fire Adapted Communities (FAC) is a collaborative approach that provides comprehensive resources to all those who play a role in wildfire education, planning and action. FAC is coordinated by NFPA and the USDA Forest Service, and supported by a coalition of the nation’s leaders in wildfire safety.
According to the Firewise Communities program, each year, wildland fires threaten hundreds of homes, causing millions of dollars in damage. Areas with an abundance of flammable vegetation and periods of dry, hot, windy weather are particularly vulnerable to wildfires. Check out some safety tips to see how you can protect yourself and your hoime.
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Wildland fires are a serious threat to lives and property in the U.S. The combination of drought, warmer temperatures, high winds and an excess of dried vegetation in forests and grasslands has made fire seasons progressively worse over the past 50 years. In the past decade, wildfires have burned over 59 million acres of these lands. According to the National Interagency Fire Center (NIFC), 2012 saw one of the worst fire seasons in decades, with over nine million acres burned.
Facts and figures
- In 2012, more than 2,200 primary structures were lost due to wildfire and attributed to house-to-house ignitions. From 2004 – 2012, primary structure losses totaled more than 13,000.
- According to the National Interagency Fire Center (NIFC), nearly 70,000 wildfires burned more than 9 million acres across the U.S. in 2012.
- The National Association of State Foresters (NASF) cites more than 72,000 U.S. communities are now at risk from wildfire.
- According to NFPA, large-loss fires accounted for nearly $800 million in direct property losses nationwide in 2011. The Bastrop County Complex (Texas) wildfire alone resulted in $400 million in property loss and was the largest of the large-loss fires recorded during that year. See the 10 largest loss wildland fires in the U.S.
- InciWeb, an incident information system, provides the most timely and accurate wildfire incident information for the public, media relations and public affairs professionals. Wildfire information on InciWeb includes the name of the fire, location and number of acres burned.
Wildfire activity
See the map below to find current wildfires activity across the U.S. The map is updated every 24 hours and developed by GeoMAC.
View Larger Map
NFPA's latest news about wildland fires
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