Wildfire Risk to Homes, Roads, and Power Lines

Human-caused climate change is increasing the frequency and intensity of wildfires in the U.S., exposing millions of homes and hundreds of thousands of miles of roads and power lines to risk. Approximately one-third of U.S. homes and 116 million people are located in counties with high or very high wildfire risk, with the highest concentrations in Western states and Florida. Between 2000 and 2019, over 265,000 miles of roads and power lines in the contiguous U.S. were exposed to large fires. The risk is further amplified by the expansion of the wildland-urban interface, which grew by about 31% between 1990 and 2020.

• Human-caused climate change is driving an increase in 'fire weather'—the hot, dry, and windy conditions that facilitate extreme wildfires. In the western U.S., human-induced climate change is responsible for at least two-thirds of the rapid increase in fire weather in recent decades.
• A significant portion of the U.S. population and housing stock is at high risk. Nearly 116 million people (over one-third of the population) and approximately 48 million homes and residential structures are located in counties classified as having high or very high wildfire risk.
• Wildfire risk varies significantly by state: 100% of Hawaii's counties and 97% of California's counties have high or very high risk. In Florida, 87% of counties are high or very high risk, and nearly 99% of the state's population lives in these areas.
• Critical infrastructure in the contiguous U.S. faced substantial exposure to large fires between 2000 and 2019, with over 256,000 miles of roads and more than 9,200 miles of power lines affected. California, Texas, and Idaho recorded the highest mileage of exposed roads and power lines.
• The wildland-urban interface (WUI)—where buildings and wildland vegetation overlap—expanded by approximately 31% in the contiguous U.S. between 1990 and 2020, covering about 293,000 square miles and increasing overall fire exposure.

APA

Rad, A. M. (2024). Wildfire Risk to Homes, Roads, and Power Lines. Climate Central. https://www.climatecentral.org/climate-matters/wildfire-risk-to-homes

Chicago

Rad, Arash Modaresi. Wildfire Risk to Homes, Roads, and Power Lines. Climate Central, 2024. https://www.climatecentral.org/climate-matters/wildfire-risk-to-homes.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Rad |first1=Arash Modaresi |title=Wildfire Risk to Homes, Roads, and Power Lines |publisher=Climate Central |date=4 September 2024 |url=https://www.climatecentral.org/climate-matters/wildfire-risk-to-homes |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{rad2024wildfire, author = {Rad, Arash Modaresi}, title = {{Wildfire Risk to Homes, Roads, and Power Lines}}, institution = {Climate Central}, year = {2024}, month = sep, url = {https://www.climatecentral.org/climate-matters/wildfire-risk-to-homes}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }