The most current data show 2023 was a relatively quiet fire year. The National Interagency Fire Center reports 54,273 wildfires burned 2,627,112 acres through Dec. 18. While the number of fires was in line with the 10-year average, the number of acres burned was the smallest in more than two decades, dating back to 1998 when 1.3 million acres burned. Fires in 2023 simply weren’t as destructive as in previous years.
As reported in U.S. News and World Report, Brad Rippey, a meteorologist with the Department of Agriculture, said high levels of precipitation kept the western U.S. mostly out of trouble, which kept the national numbers low.
Cal Fire San Diego Captain Thomas Shoots said California “caught a lot of breaks” this fire season. Even though the state still had quite a few wildfires, favorable weather conditions enabled firefighters to keep them relatively small.
Canada’s 2023 wildfire season offers a stark contrast. Weather and climate conditions in the country contributed to catastrophic wildfires that burned 45 million acres.
Photo: Precipitation from 2023 weather patterns not only produced flooding in the Nevada desert during Burning Man but also limited the number of acres burned across the West (photo by Cory Doctorow).
