Overview
- The University of Colorado Boulder study published Tuesday projects that, if current patterns persist, between about 133,200 and 449,100 U.S. structures could be damaged or destroyed by wildfire between the present and 2060.
- Risk is spreading beyond the West with sharp projected increases across central and eastern regions where communities often lack wildfire experience and preparation.
- Empirical analyses show a tiny share of very fast‑growing fires causes most destruction, with a small fraction of events responsible for the majority of structures lost and firefighting costs.
- Practical, relatively low‑cost measures such as Class A roofs, ember‑resistant vents, defensible space, revised building codes, landscape fuel treatments and utility upgrades can materially lower losses.
- Many high‑risk neighborhoods are low‑income or otherwise vulnerable, which limits their ability to adopt protections and recover after disasters and narrows the window for coordinated policy and financing to prevent large future losses.