Annual area burnt by wildfires in United States
United States: Annual area burnt by wildfires was 3.24 million hectares in 2026. ▼ Falling
Annual area burnt by wildfires in United States, 2012–2026
Source: Global Wildfire Information System (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in hectares.
Analysis
United States recorded 3.24 million hectares for annual area burnt by wildfires in 2026.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 0.3% on the previous year and down 42.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, annual area burnt by wildfires in United States peaked at 7.31 million hectares in 2020 and was at its lowest, 3.23 million hectares, in 2025.
That places United States 14th out of 248 countries with data for 2026, putting it in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 15 years of available data.
Annual area burnt by wildfires in United States, year by year
| Year | hectares | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2012 | 6.00 million hectares | — |
| 2013 | 4.54 million hectares | -24.3% |
| 2014 | 4.69 million hectares | +3.3% |
| 2015 | 6.61 million hectares | +40.9% |
| 2016 | 5.61 million hectares | -15.2% |
| 2017 | 6.89 million hectares | +22.9% |
| 2018 | 5.61 million hectares | -18.6% |
| 2019 | 5.05 million hectares | -10.0% |
| 2020 | 7.31 million hectares | +44.6% |
| 2021 | 6.83 million hectares | -6.6% |
| 2022 | 6.56 million hectares | -3.8% |
| 2023 | 3.41 million hectares | -48.1% |
| 2024 | 4.35 million hectares | +27.5% |
| 2025 | 3.23 million hectares | -25.6% |
| 2026 | 3.24 million hectares | +0.3% |
United States compared with similar countries
- United States's 3.24 million hectares is above the median for high income countries, which is 273 hectares, 11872.4× the median. (85 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010s | 5.63 million hectares | 4.54 million hectares | 6.89 million hectares | 8 |
| 2020s | 4.99 million hectares | 3.23 million hectares | 7.31 million hectares | 7 |
Countries ranked near United States
More reference data data for United States
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 19.34 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 24.55 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 119.42 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 20.7 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Agricultural Soils 119.42 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 64.85 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure Management 52.14 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 133.45 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 589.96 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 112.69 (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is annual area burnt by wildfires in United States?
- Annual area burnt by wildfires in United States was 3.24 million hectares in 2026, according to Global Wildfire Information System (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest annual area burnt by wildfires recorded in United States?
- The highest recorded value was 7.31 million hectares in 2020.
- What is the lowest annual area burnt by wildfires recorded in United States?
- The lowest recorded value was 3.23 million hectares in 2025.
- How does United States rank for annual area burnt by wildfires?
- United States ranks 14th out of 248 countries with data for 2026.
- Is annual area burnt by wildfires rising or falling in United States?
- Over the last ten years it is down 42.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this United States data come from?
- The figures come from Global Wildfire Information System (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Annual area burnt by wildfires. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 15 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Area burnt by wildfires in hectares. The 2026 data is incomplete and was last updated 18 September 2026.