Over the past several years, the United States has experienced record-breaking wildfires. In 2018 alone, 8,767,492 acres burned, roughly equivalent to the area of 74 of the 75 largest cities in the United States combined. This is the sixth highest total since modern historical records began in the mid-1900s.
2004 was the first time over 8 million acres burned in one year. During the next 14 years, more than 8 million acres burned annually another eight times, making nine of the last 14 years the highest annual totals of burned wildfire acreage. A decadal comparison of burned acreage shows that over the last 20 years there has been a shift towards increased burned acreage. In that same timeframe, larger and more devastating wildfire events have occurred.