The Insurance Information Institute (Triple-I) has released its latest wildfire Issues Brief, revealing a significant rise in wildfire risk across all regions of the United States.

Data from the National Interagency Coordination Center (NICC) shows that both the number of wildfires and the acres burned in 2024 exceeded the five- and ten-year national averages.

“Resilience, collaboration and investment are what’s needed to ensure that our communities are safe from wildfire,” said Sean Kevelighan, CEO, Triple-I. “The insurance industry is working with all stakeholders to predict and prevent devastating losses from wildfires.”

Kevelighan also stressed the importance of property and casualty insurers actively engaging with diverse stakeholder groups to promote investment in wildfire mitigation and resilience. “This goes for all climate-related perils, but it is particularly important in the case of wildfire,” Kevelighan added.

The report highlights that in 2024, nearly 65,000 wildfires were reported across the country, a sharp increase from just over 56,000 the previous year.

The total area consumed by wildfires soared to nearly 9 million acres, more than three times the acreage burned in 2023.

Seven out of ten geographic regions experienced wildfire activity above their historical averages, with the Southern Area reporting the highest number of fires, while the Northwest Area saw the greatest extent of land affected.

Nationally, wildfires destroyed 4,552 structures in 2024, including over 2,400 homes, more than 2,000 minor structures, and 80 commercial or mixed-use buildings.

The report also highlights a key challenge in the wildland-urban interface (WUI), where individual homeowners’ efforts to mitigate fire risk can be undermined if neighbouring properties do not take similar precautions. With more people moving into these high-risk zones, the need for community-wide cooperation is critical.

Insurers are uniquely positioned to inform and support these efforts, but success depends on homeowners and businesses coming together to adopt modern building codes and land-use practices that improve wildfire resilience.

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