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Total Fires
—
selected period
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Acres Burned
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total acres
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Avg Fire Size
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acres per fire
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Human-Caused
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of all fires
Spatial maps
Click a tab to switch between map views · Hover for details
HumanLightning· Dot size = fire frequency in 0.5° grid cell
Responds to cause type filter · Continental U.S. only
Show:
HumanLightningClass FClass G
Responds to year range and cause type · Hover a dot for details · Continental U.S. only
Static — full 1992–2015 actuarial pure risk premium · Hover state for value · Alaska excluded (off scale)
Annual fire trends
Fires per year (amber) and total acres burned (orange)
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Cause groups
Click to drill down →
Human-caused fire breakdown
Specific causes ranked by frequency
ℹ️ How to read
📊 How to use this section
Step 1:The donut chart shows three top-level cause groups at a glance
Step 2:Click a group button to drill into specific causes within that category
Human:12 specific causes ranked by fire count — debris burning, arson, equipment etc.
Lightning:Top 15 states by lightning fire count — the only natural cause in U.S. data
Unknown:Missing or undefined cause records — 8.9% of all fires
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Lightning is the only natural ignition source in U.S. wildfire records. Lightning fires tend to be larger — they ignite in remote areas with limited suppression access.
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Seasonal fire pattern
Monthly activity — darker = more intense
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Human vs lightning over time
Annual fire count by cause — stacked
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Acres burned per year
Total annual burn area — darker = more severe
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Pure risk premium — top 15 states
Actuarial: avg fires/yr × avg fire size
ℹ️ What is this?
📊 Pure Risk Premium — Explained
Formula:Avg fires per year × avg acres per fire
Meaning:Expected annual acres burned — the actuarial foundation of wildfire insurance pricing
Idaho:High severity-driven risk — fewer fires but each burns hundreds of acres on average
California:High frequency-driven risk — nearly 8,000 fires per year but smaller average size
Key insight:Two states can have similar pure premiums through completely opposite risk profiles — insurers must price them differently
🔍No data for this selection