The Spiralling Cost of California's Wildfires

The costs of wildfires in California have escalated significantly over the last four decades. As the following infographic shows, the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection’s average annual expenditure on its fire suppression emergency fund was $14 million between 1980/1981 and 1984/1985. This increased to an estimated annual average of $868 million from 2020/2021 to 2024/2025. The final five year average is so high partly due to the year 2020/2021, when $1.23 billion was spent. According to the source, the data on the years 2023 and 2024 are preliminary and may be adjusted later.