The Next Fueling Discovery Webinar Takes Place May 29

Patterns of increasing building loss from wildfires in the conterminous U.S., 2000-2020

By Wildland Fire Science May 16, 2025

Fueling Discovery with USGS Wildland Fire Science is a public webinar series hosted by USGS Wildland Fire Science and the Ecosystems Mission Area. These webinars are meant to provide information on the breadth of USGS fire science used by stakeholders to make decisions before, during, and after wildfires in ecosystems across the U.S.

Join the Webinar

May is Wildfire Awareness Month due to the increase in fire activity in late spring throughout the summer caused by warming temperatures, drying fuels, and increased ignitions from recreational activities. Wildfire Awareness Month helps communities and land, and emergency managers prepare for increased fire activity by increasing awareness of how to create defensible space around a home as well as learning how to minimize risk during fire weather. During Wildfire Awareness Month and throughout the year, the USGS provides essential information and tools to land managers, homeowners, federal and state agencies for investigating impacts before, during and after wildfires.

The USGS Ecosystems Mission Area and USGS Wildland Fire Science program are hosting a Fueling Discovery with USGS Wildland Fire Science talk on May 29th from 3-4 PM ET. The webinar is open to the public and provides information on the breadth of USGS fire science used by stakeholders to make decisions before, during, and after wildfires in ecosystems across the U.S.

Webinar Details

Title: Patterns of increasing building loss from wildfires in the conterminous U.S., 2000-2020

Date: Thursday, May 29, 2025, from 3:00 - 4:00pm ET / 12:00pm - 1:00pm PT

Speaker: Amanda Carlson, Physical Research Scientist, USGS Geosciences and Environmental Change Science Center

Summary: Wildfires are becoming more destructive as burned area increases and as more homes are built in the wildland-urban interface, but it is unclear how these patterns are affected by changing wildfire behavior in different fuel types. To better understand changing patterns of wildfire destruction, we mapped buildings exposed to and destroyed by wildfires in the conterminous U.S. from 2000-2020. From these maps, we determined that the probability of an exposed building being destroyed by wildfire has more than tripled over the past two decades, and that more wildfire destruction is occurring in forests relative to grass and shrublands. Understanding these changing patterns can help us design more effective strategies to mitigate risk.