Forest fires — Burned Area in United States of America
United States of America: Forest fires — Burned Area was 314,391 ha in 2024. ▲ Rising
Forest fires — Burned Area in United States of America, 1990–2024
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Measured in ha.
Analysis
The most recent figure for forest fires — burned area in United States of America is 314,391 ha, measured in 2024.
The figure is up 17.3% on the previous year and up 21.9% over ten years.
Over the whole period, forest fires — burned area in United States of America peaked at 893,984 ha in 2020 and was at its lowest, 107,740 ha, in 2001.
That places United States of America 17th out of 31 groups with data for 2024, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 35 years of available data.
Forest fires — Burned Area in United States of America, year by year
| Year | ha | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 322,110 ha | — |
| 1991 | 322,110 ha | +0.0% |
| 1992 | 322,110 ha | +0.0% |
| 1993 | 322,110 ha | +0.0% |
| 1994 | 322,110 ha | +0.0% |
| 1995 | 322,110 ha | +0.0% |
| 1996 | 332,194 ha | +3.1% |
| 1997 | 160,539 ha | -51.7% |
| 1998 | 312,409 ha | +94.6% |
| 1999 | 359,166 ha | +15.0% |
| 2000 | 366,447 ha | +2.0% |
| 2001 | 107,740 ha | -70.6% |
| 2002 | 270,515 ha | +151.1% |
| 2003 | 276,414 ha | +2.2% |
| 2004 | 265,026 ha | -4.1% |
| 2005 | 211,741 ha | -20.1% |
| 2006 | 226,113 ha | +6.8% |
| 2007 | 365,618 ha | +61.7% |
| 2008 | 393,983 ha | +7.8% |
| 2009 | 221,318 ha | -43.8% |
| 2010 | 172,198 ha | -22.2% |
| 2011 | 267,928 ha | +55.6% |
| 2012 | 231,141 ha | -13.7% |
| 2013 | 267,039 ha | +15.5% |
| 2014 | 257,840 ha | -3.4% |
| 2015 | 493,895 ha | +91.6% |
| 2016 | 246,645 ha | -50.1% |
| 2017 | 452,235 ha | +83.4% |
| 2018 | 418,909 ha | -7.4% |
| 2019 | 226,938 ha | -45.8% |
| 2020 | 893,984 ha | +293.9% |
| 2021 | 619,731 ha | -30.7% |
| 2022 | 341,073 ha | -45.0% |
| 2023 | 268,011 ha | -21.4% |
| 2024 | 314,391 ha | +17.3% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 309,697 ha | 160,539 ha | 359,166 ha | 10 |
| 2000s | 270,492 ha | 107,740 ha | 393,983 ha | 10 |
| 2010s | 303,477 ha | 172,198 ha | 493,895 ha | 10 |
| 2020s | 487,438 ha | 268,011 ha | 893,984 ha | 5 |
Countries ranked near United States of America
- 14 Thailand 362,523 ha compare
- 14 Timor-Leste 171.01 ha compare
- 15 Iran (Islamic Republic of) 0 ha compare
- 15 Micronesia (Federated States of) 0 ha
- 15 Republic of Moldova 0 ha compare
- 15 South Sudan 289,236 ha compare
- 15 Syrian Arab Republic 0 ha compare
- 15 Wallis and Futuna Islands 0 ha
- 15 Micronesia 0 ha
- 15 Polynesia 0 ha compare
- 16 Sudan (former) 276,002 ha compare
- 17 Paraguay 178,192 ha compare
- 18 Congo 165,085 ha compare
- 19 Ethiopia 140,455 ha compare
- 20 Australia and New Zealand 126,361 ha compare
More climate change data for United States of America
- Nutrient nitrogen N (total) — Synthetic fertilizers (Agricultural) 10.76 billion kg (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions (CO2eq) 274,482 kt (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions (CO2eq) from N2O 60,922 kt (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions (CO2eq) from CH4 213,560 kt (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions 229.89 kt (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions 7,627 kt (2050)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions (CO2eq) 107,381 kt (2050)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions (CO2eq) from N2O 89,068 kt (2050)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions (CO2eq) from CH4 18,313 kt (2050)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions 336.11 kt (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is forest fires — burned area in United States of America?
- Forest fires — burned area in United States of America was 314,391 ha in 2024, according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
- What is the highest forest fires — burned area recorded in United States of America?
- The highest recorded value was 893,984 ha in 2020.
- What is the lowest forest fires — burned area recorded in United States of America?
- The lowest recorded value was 107,740 ha in 2001.
- How does United States of America rank for forest fires — burned area?
- United States of America ranks 17th out of 31 groups with data for 2024.
- Is forest fires — burned area rising or falling in United States of America?
- Over the last ten years it is up 21.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this United States of America data come from?
- The figures come from Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, published as part of Forest fires — Burned Area. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 35 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO (FAO).
About this data
The FAOSTAT domain on Emissions from Fires consists of estimates of methane (CH4), nitrous oxide (N2O) and carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions generated from biomass burning in a range of vegetation types and from fires in organic soils.