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ARS Home » Plains Area » Fort Collins, Colorado » Center for Agricultural Resources Research » Water Management and Systems Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #399026
Research Project: Improving Resiliency of Semi-Arid Agroecosystems and Watersheds to Change and Disturbance through Data-Driven Research, AI, and Integrated Models

Location: Water Management and Systems Research

Title: The fastest growing and most destructive fires in the U.S. (2001-2020)

Author
item BALCH, JENNIFER - University Of Colorado
item IGLESIAS, VIRGINIA - University Of Colorado
item Mahood, Adam
item COOK, MAXWELL - University Of Colorado
item AMARAL, CIBELE - University Of Colorado
item DECASTRO, AMY - National Center For Atmospheric Research (NCAR)
item LEYK, STEFAN - University Of Colorado
item MCINTOSH, TYLER - University Of Colorado
item NAGY, R - University Of Colorado
item ST. DENIS, LISE - University Of Colorado
item TUFF, TY - University Of Colorado
item VERLEYE, ERICK - University Of Colorado
item WILLIAMS, A - University Of California (UCLA)
item KOLDEN, CRYSTAL - University Of California

Submitted to: Science
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 7/26/2024
Publication Date: N/A
Citation: N/A

Interpretive Summary: How fast fires move across the landscape is extremely important yet highly understudied. Nearly half of all ecoregions in the United States experienced fast fires (those that grew more than 1620 ha per day). These fires were responsible for the vast majority of structure damage and suppression costs. Improving our understanding of fast fires will better inform suppression efforts and to better prepare communities.

Technical Abstract: How fast fires move is a critical, yet understudied characteristic of wildfires at large scales, particularly as many of the most destructive wildfires in U.S. history grew rapidly during high wind events. This study reconstructs the daily growth rate for more than 93,000 fire events (2000-2020) using FIRED, a MODIS-derived fire events database, to explore the patterns of rapid fire growth in the conterminous U.S. Nearly half of U.S. ecoregions experienced fast fires, where growth exceeded 1620 ha per day (N = 1616). Such wildfires were responsible for the vast majority of both structures destroyed (87%; ~59,000) and suppression costs (2001-2018; $11.68 billion), based on incident reports. Across all U.S. ecosystems, 38% of the growth of a fire occurs on one day, and is strongly related to final fire size (i.e., the faster the fire, the bigger the fire; adjusted R2 = 0.97). Maximum daily growth usually (83% of events) occurs within the first five days of an event, across ecoregions. Within just the past two decades the pace of fires has substantially increased across many ecoregions of the western U.S. In tandem, the number of homes exposed to these fast fires (< 1 km from a fire perimeter) has more than doubled since 2000. Given the rapid growth of many devastating wildfires, the proximity of homes and infrastructure to these fires, and the complexities of evacuation, it is critically important to understand fast fires to better inform suppression efforts and to better prepare communities.