Officials with the U.S. Forest Service say the cost of fighting wildfires throughout the country are set to rise by more than 40% by 2050.
The White House’s Climate Financial Risk Reportexamined 10 future climate scenarios based on warming land and sea temperatures and wildfire seasons that have extended year-round because of climate change.
It concluded that national forest lands would experience a near-doubling of area burned between 2041 and 2059. In one scenario, the amount of wildfire-scorched land would quadruple.
Currently the federal government spends on average more than $3 billion a year on wildfire suppression. But in the coming decades, a middle-of-the-road estimate puts costs at $3.9 billion.
Officials say by the end of the century, wildfire spending could increase by as much as 283% to $44.9 billion a year as the effects of climate change intensify.