Human-started wildfires expand the fire niche across the United States

TLDR

Wildfire suppression in the U.S. costs billions each year, yet research has largely emphasized climate‑driven risk while neglecting the direct contribution of human ignitions. The study argues that wildfire mitigation policies should target the human expansion of the fire niche. The authors analyzed two decades of government wildfire records to demonstrate the central role of human ignitions.

Abstract

Significance Fighting wildfires in the United States costs billions of dollars annually. Public dialog and ongoing research have focused on increasing wildfire risk because of climate warming, overlooking the direct role that people play in igniting wildfires and increasing fire activity. Our analysis of two decades of government agency wildfire records highlights the fundamental role of human ignitions. Human-started wildfires accounted for 84% of all wildfires, tripled the length of the fire season, dominated an area seven times greater than that affected by lightning fires, and were responsible for nearly half of all area burned. National and regional policy efforts to mitigate wildfire-related hazards would benefit from focusing on reducing the human expansion of the fire niche.