The Fiscal Burden of Wildfires: State Expenditures and Funding Mechanisms for Wildfire Suppression in the Western U.S. and Implications for Federal Policy

• Published date: 01 December 2021
• Author: Philip S. Cook,Chelsea Pennick McIver,Dennis R. Becker
• DOI: 10.1177/0160323X211061353
• Date: 01 December 2021
• Subject Matter: Field Notes

The Fiscal Burden of Wildfires:

State Expenditures and Funding

Mechanisms for Wildfire

Suppression in the Western U.S.

and Implications for Federal

Policy

Chelsea Pennick McIver

1

, Philip S. Cook

1

,

and Dennis R. Becker

2

Executive Summary

The number and size of wildfires in the western United States have increased dramatically in the last

30 years. The rising cost of wildfire suppression has become a significant concern for all levels of

government, although most attention has been focused on the federal level. Much less is known

about the financial impact of expenditures on states, which retain responsibility for suppression

on over 480 million acres of state and private forests. This study collected data on state expendi-

tures for wildfire suppression in the western United States from 2005 to 2015 to examine fiscal

burdens and compare funding mechanisms used to cover those costs. Our analysis finds that west-

ern states expended $11.9 billion on wildfire suppression over the 11-year period and used own-

source funds to cover 88 percent of these costs. States displayed a variety of mechanisms for cov-

ering their cost obligations with tradeoffs that may affect non-wildfire policy priorities.

Keywords

natural disasters, public finance, states, wildfire, policy

Introduction

The number of large wildfires and areas burned

by wildfires each year in the western United

States has increased significantly over the last

30 years (Westerling 2016; Hoover and

Hanson 2021). This trend is expected to con-

tinue, even in areas historically characterized

by long fire return intervals (Liu and

Wimberly 2016; McEvoy et al. 2020). Costs

associated with wildfires, including loss of life

and property, have been significant (Thomas

et al. 2017), and the financial burden to

federal agencies continue to escalate (Hoover

2020; Burke et al. 2021).

1

Policy Analysis Group, College of Natural Resources,

University of Idaho, Moscow, ID, USA

2

College of Natural Resources, University of Idaho,

Moscow, ID, USA

Corresponding Author:

Chelsea Pennick McIver, Policy Analysis Group, College of

Natural Resources, University of Idaho, 875 Perimeter Dr.

MS 1139, Moscow, ID 83844, USA.

Email: cpmciver@uidaho.edu

Field Notes

State and Local Government Review

2021, Vol. 53(4) 337-351

© The Author(s) 2021

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DOI: 10.1177/0160323X211061353

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