Area burned by wildfires by land cover type in United States
United States: Area burned by wildfires by land cover type was 1.13 million hectares in 2025. ▲ Rising
Area burned by wildfires by land cover type in United States, 2002–2025
Source: Global Wildfire Information System (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in hectares.
Analysis
United States recorded 1.13 million hectares for area burned by wildfires by land cover type in 2025.
That represents a change of down 49.4% on the previous year and up 4.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, area burned by wildfires by land cover type in United States peaked at 2.46 million hectares in 2011 and was at its lowest, 647,303 hectares, in 2023.
That places United States 25th out of 225 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 24 years of available data.
Area burned by wildfires by land cover type in United States, year by year
| Year | hectares | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2002 | 1.07 million hectares | — |
| 2003 | 1.12 million hectares | +4.7% |
| 2004 | 735,056 hectares | -34.4% |
| 2005 | 1.82 million hectares | +148.0% |
| 2006 | 2.21 million hectares | +21.3% |
| 2007 | 1.78 million hectares | -19.4% |
| 2008 | 1.33 million hectares | -25.6% |
| 2009 | 1.24 million hectares | -6.2% |
| 2010 | 803,403 hectares | -35.4% |
| 2011 | 2.46 million hectares | +206.0% |
| 2012 | 2.27 million hectares | -7.7% |
| 2013 | 683,173 hectares | -69.9% |
| 2014 | 1.22 million hectares | +79.2% |
| 2015 | 1.08 million hectares | -11.4% |
| 2016 | 1.53 million hectares | +41.3% |
| 2017 | 2.06 million hectares | +34.3% |
| 2018 | 1.97 million hectares | -4.4% |
| 2019 | 971,416 hectares | -50.6% |
| 2020 | 2.35 million hectares | +141.6% |
| 2021 | 1.37 million hectares | -41.7% |
| 2022 | 1.45 million hectares | +5.7% |
| 2023 | 647,303 hectares | -55.2% |
| 2024 | 2.24 million hectares | +246.1% |
| 2025 | 1.13 million hectares | -49.4% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 1.41 million hectares | 735,056 hectares | 2.21 million hectares | 8 |
| 2010s | 1.51 million hectares | 683,173 hectares | 2.46 million hectares | 10 |
| 2020s | 1.53 million hectares | 647,303 hectares | 2.35 million hectares | 6 |
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 area burned by wildfires by land cover type in United States?
- Area burned by wildfires by land cover type in United States was 1.13 million hectares in 2025, according to Global Wildfire Information System (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest area burned by wildfires by land cover type recorded in United States?
- The highest recorded value was 2.46 million hectares in 2011.
- What is the lowest area burned by wildfires by land cover type recorded in United States?
- The lowest recorded value was 647,303 hectares in 2023.
- How does United States rank for area burned by wildfires by land cover type?
- United States ranks 25th out of 225 countries with data for 2025.
- Is area burned by wildfires by land cover type rising or falling in United States?
- Over the last ten years it is up 4.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- 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 Area burned by wildfires by land cover type. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 24 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Area of shrubland and grassland burnt by wildfires each year, in hectares. Includes open and closed shrublands and grasslands without a significant tree cover.