In 2018, more than 58,000 wildfires raged in the U.S., burning more than 1.5 million acres. In 2019, from January 1 to May 10, there have already been more than 10,000. Last year’s Camp Fire in Northern California was the deadliest and most destructive fire on record for California.
The problem is global, and the effects are devastating to homeowners, local businesses, and the first responders who exhaust themselves extinguishing the flames. Response efforts involve a wide range of agencies at all levels of government, including the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) and its partners at the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and U.S. Fire Administration (USFA).
DHS S&T, FEMA and USFA are working closely with the national and international first responder community on the growing problem of fires in the wildland-urban interface (WUI).
