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Wildfires - Global Warming Forecasts |
2015 Wildfires - Forest Fires2015. By 2015 10 million acres of national forests may be at high risk of uncontrollable, catastrophic wildfires. “In 1997, [the U.S. Forest Service] announced its goal to improve forest health by resolving the problems of uncontrollable, catastrophic wildfires on national forests by the end of fiscal year 2015. . . . However, because it lacks adequate data, the Forest Service has not yet developed a cohesive strategy for addressing several factors that present significant barriers to improving the health of the national forests by reducing fuels. As a result, many acres of national forests in the interior West may remain at high risk of uncontrollable wildfire at the end of fiscal year 2015. . . . . In 1997, the Chief of the Forest Service adopted an internal agency recommendation to increase the number of acres on which fuels are reduced from about 570,000 acres to 3 million acres annually by fiscal year 2005 and to continue this level until the year 2015. However, GAO’s analysis of the agency’s initial plans and data indicate that even this level of effort may leave about 10 million acres of the current 39 million acres at high risk of catastrophic wildfire. . . . Our preliminary analysis of the Forest Service’s fuel reduction costs—which, according to the agency’s data average about $320 per acre for the combination of burning and mechanical removal that is necessary in the interior West—indicates that as much as $12 billion, or about $725 million a year, may be needed to treat the 39 million acres at high risk of uncontrollable wildfire by the end of fiscal year 2015.” (GAO, Western National Forests, A Cohesive Strategy is Needed to Address Catastrophic Wildfire Threats, Report to the Subcommittee on Forests and Forest Health, Committee on Resources, House of Representatives, U.S. General Accounting Office, GAO/RCED-99-65, Washington, DC, April 1999, pp. 3, 4, 6, 8, 41, 45) Wildfire Forest Fuels Buildup 1909 U.S. Forest Service photograph of typical open Ponderosa Pine stand in the Bitterroot National Forest in Idaho. GAO/RCED-99-65, p. 23  1989 photograph taken from the same spot in the Bitterroot National Forest in the same direction. GAO/RCED-99-65, p. 24 2020 Wildfires - Global Warming2020. Global
warming projected to cost New Mexico $488 million in wildfire-related
costs in 2020 if greenhouse gases are not reduced. “If nothing
is done to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, New Mexico could experience
some $3.2 billion in associated costs -- led primarily by wildfires and
health-care. This could translate to an individual tab of about 8
percent of annual household income by 2020, according to a report
produced for the University of Oregon's the Climate Leadership Initiative's Program on Climate Economics by ECONorthwest.
. .New Mexico will face more frequent wildfires amid prolonged heat
waves, significant reductions in precipitation except for northern
regions where increases are anticipated and increased seasonal droughts
and floods.
Hotter weather -- with summer temperatures rising up to 12.6 [degrees] Fahrenheit over current averages by 2080 -- would increase air-conditioning costs, health-care complications and the state's death rate, especially for residents without access to home cooling. . .‘Our assessment shows that climate change will impose many different types of costs on the citizens of New Mexico. . .We anticipate health-related costs of almost $421 million, wildfire-related costs of $488 million and energy-related costs of $248 million per year in 2020.’ [said the report's lead author, Ernie Niemi, a principal with ECONorthwest, a fellow with the Climate Leadership Initiative (CLI) and a [University of Oregon Program on Climate Economics] steering-committee member].” (“What if New Mexico doesn't address climate change?,” University of Oregon Media Relations, March 2, 2009) 2020. Acres burned by wildfire in the State of Washington projected to increase by 50 percent by 2020 with an annual cost of fighting wildfires that may exceed $75 million. “Increased carbon dioxide will mean bigger trees, while higher temperatures increase the incidence of wildfire. The number of acres burned will increase by 50 percent by 2020 and by 100 percent by 2040, so the annual cost of fighting wildfires may exceed $75 million by 2020 - 50 percent higher than the current expenditures. That cost will double by 2040. Lost timber sales, lost recreational and tourism opportunities, and health problems stemming from fires could be ‘many times higher’ than the cost of fire control, [Bob Doppelt, director of the Climate Leadership Initiative at the University of Oregon and co-author of 2007 study titled Impacts of Climate Change on Washington's Economy] said.” (Dan Richman, “Global Warming To Cost Us - Millions Will Be Spent On Higher Prices, Fixes, Study Says,” Seattle Post-Intelligencer, January 11, 2007) View wildfire maps. 2025 Wildfires2025. By 2025 Montana's fire-suppression costs could triple to $84 million as result of climate change and new development growth. “Climate change and new development in Montana will cause fire-suppression costs to skyrocket at the taxpayer’s expense if policymakers don’t better manage fire-prone areas, a recently released report [Solutions to the Rising Costs of Fighting Fires in the Wildland-Urban Interface] says. . . . Headwaters Economics conducted the study, which found that while it averages $28 million each year to protect Montana homes near forestlands from wildfire, new construction and global warming will fuel more fires and those costs could triple [to $84 million] by 2025. The projected $84 million or so in projected costs is more than the Montana Department of Agriculture’s current annual budget, according to the study.” (Jessica Mayrer, Chronicle Staff Writer, “New development, climate change fuel firefighting costs,” Bozeman Daily Chronicle, Bozeman, Montana, August 28, 2009 citing findings in "Solutions to the Rising Costs of Fighting Fires in the Wildland-Urban Interface," Headwaters Economics, Bozeman, Montana, September 2009, updated December 2009, p. 12) 2030 Wildfires2030. Lightning-caused fires in Georgia projected to increase by 25 to 50 percent. “In 30 years [2030], the trees [of Georgia] could all be gone. If rainfall declines 20 percent as projected by the Canadian [global warming] scenario [published in an April 2001 report by the National Science and Technology Council], most of Georgia's coastal plain, now part of the nation's ‘woodbasket,’ would be converted into open grasslands like that of Texas or Nebraska. Runoff into the nearby Savannah River would drop by 61 percent by 2030. Without rainfall, the trees would dry out and become vulnerable to beetles and other pests. Lightning-caused fire would increase by 25 to 50 percent and would become the Southeast's prime landscape architect.” (Jay Bookman, Staff, “Global Warming In Georgia: Southern-fried Forecast - Will climate changes be mild or dire? The latest news is chilling,” The Atlanta Journal Constitution, Atlanta, Georgia, July 29, 2001, p. B1 reporting findings in a April 2001 report published by the National Science and Technology Council) 2040 Wildfires2040. Number of acres burned by wildfire in the State of Washington projected to increase by 100% by 2040.
“Increased carbon dioxide will mean bigger trees, while higher
temperatures increase the incidence of wildfire. The number of acres
burned will increase by 50 percent by 2020 and by 100 percent by 2040,
so the annual cost of fighting wildfires may exceed $75 million by 2020 -
50 percent higher than the current expenditures. 2050 Wildfires2050. Forest wildfire burn area in the U.S. is projected to increase by over 50% and as much as 175% in some areas by 2050.
“The area of forest burnt by wildfires in the United States is set to
increase by over 50% by 2050, according to research by climate
scientists. The study [Impacts
of climate change from 2000 to 2050 on wildfire activity and
carbonaceous aerosol concentrations in the western United States],
predicts that the worst affected areas will be the forests in the
Pacific Northwest and the Rocky Mountains, where the area of forest
destroyed by wildfire is predicted to increase by 78% and 175%
respectively. The research is based on a conservative temperature
increase of 1.6 degrees Celsius over the next 40 years [2010-2050].
Published in the Journal of Geophysical Research, scientists
also say that the increase in wildfires will lead to significant
deterioration of the air quality in the western United States due to
greater presence of smoke. . . . This work was funded by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and National Aeronautics and Space Administration. Dr. Dominick Spracklen carried out the research whilst at Harvard’s School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS) in collaboration with Jennifer Logan and Loretta Mickley.” (NASA press release, “Wildfires Set to Increase 50 Percent by 2050,” NASA Earth Observatory, Twitter NASA EO, Greenbelt, Maryland,
July 28, 2009 reporting findings in D.V. Spracklen, L.J. Mickley, J.A.
Logan, R.C. Hudman, R. Yevich, M.C. Flannigan, and A.L. Westerlin,
"Impacts of climate change from 2000 to 2050 on wildfire activity and
carbonaceous aerosol concentrations in the western United States,"
Journal of Geophysical Research, Vol. 114, D20301,
doi:10.1029/2008JD010966, published October 20, 2009. Percentage Increase in Wildfire Area Burned  This map graphic shows the
percentage increase in area burned by wildfires, from the present-day to
the 2050s, as calculated by the model of Spracklen et al. [2009] for
the May-October fire season. The model follows a scenario of moderately
increasing emissions of greenhouse gas emissions and leads to average
global warming of 1.6 degrees Celsius (3 degrees Fahrenheit ) by 2050.
Most of the calculated increase in area burned is due to warmer
temperatures in the West, which leads to dryer conditions and more
serious wildfires. Credit: Loretta Mickley, Harvard School of
Engineering and Applied Sciences. Spracklen et al, Oct. 2009. |
Wildfire impacts and policy questions:
NASA Satellite View of Fires Around the World The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA's Terra satellite shows fires around the world. Credit: NASA - Wildfires: A Symptom of Climate Change * * * 2050. Projection that California property losses due to wildfires caused by climate change could increase by $2 billion a year by 2050. “California may be planning to slash greenhouse gas emissions, but it might also want to get busy finding ways to beat back what already lies in store for a warmer world, a new report suggests. ‘Extreme events from heat waves, floods, droughts, wildfires and bad air quality are likely to become more frequent in the future and pose serious challenges to Californians,’ said the report, a synthesis of 37 scientific papers. The report, the first update of a 2006 assessment on climate change in California, reaches starker conclusions than the first report did on flooding in the Bay Area and the state's diminishing rain and snow. Among the key finding [of the report was the finding that]: Property losses due to wildfires could increase to $2 billion a year by 2050 and $14 billion a year by 2100.” (Mike Taugher, Contra Costa Times, “Warming to bring more flooding and fire, less rain to state,” The Oakland Tribune, Oakland, California, April 1, 2009 citing a draft version of Executive Summary of Climate Action Team Biennial Report to the Governor and Legislature, Climate Action Team, Sacramento, California, May 6, 2010) 2050. 20% increase in the number and area of wildfires in Yosemite National Park predicted for 2050. “Wildfires within California's world famous Yosemite National Park could become more frequent and severe due to climate change, say scientists. New research in the International Journal of Wildland Fire [published by the International Association of Wildland Fire]
says warmer temperatures pose a twin threat. As well as directly
triggering fires, they could also melt the snow that covers the forest
in winter. Lightning strikes
would then trigger more fires, burning more intensely. . . . That is
because predicted higher temperatures will make vegetation more
flammable and allow larger fires to take hold. ‘But this research
suggests that declines in snowpack will have an additional effect,’ says
Dr Lutz. He and his colleagues estimate that [by 2050] warmer temperatures
will trigger a 20% increase in both the number of fires within Yosemite
and also in the area of forest that will burn with a higher severity.
These increased fires will be triggered by lightning strikes. The
reason that will happen is two-fold. First, there is some evidence to
suggest that increasing levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere lead
to more lightning strikes. Second, and more important in Yosemite, Dr
Lutz and his colleagues show that if snowpack cover in Yosemite during
the winter falls by 17% by 2050, an amount predicted by conservative
climate models, then lightning strikes are more likely to ignite forest
fires in the park. [Analysis of historic data showed that] when
snowpack cover decreased in certain years, lightning-ignited fires
increased exponentially. . . . Overall, the number of lightning-ignited fires is predicted to increase by 19.1% from 2020 through to 2049, while the area that will burn at high severity each year will increase by 21.9%. The projections produced by Lutz's team depend on warming continuing according to what is known as the [IPCC] B1 emissions scenario [Third Assessment Report published by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change in 2001].” (Matt Walker, “Warming 'big threat' to Yosemite,” BBC, Monday, November 2, 2009 reporting findings in James A. Lutz, Jan W. van Wagtendonk, Andrea E. Thode, Jay D. Miller and Jerry F. Franklin, “Climate, lightning ignitions, and fire severity in Yosemite National Park, California, USA,” International Journal of Wildland Fire 18(7) 765–774 doi:10.1071/WF08117, published: 27 October 2009) 2085 WildfiresPotential for Wildfires in California in 2085 2085. Predicted wildfire frequency in California in 2085.
"The University of California at Merced prepared a study estimating how
climate change may alter the frequency of large wildfires in
California. The example [above] shows the potential for wildfires in
2085 as predicted by the GFDL climate projection model under the A2
emissions scenario. The scale shows areas affected by different
frequencies of wildfires under a climate change scenario by the end of
this century. For example, 4.0 means the danger of wildfires would be
four times more than in the historical period." (California Climate Change Portal, "Potential Changes in Wildfire Regimes in California," Climate Change Policy & Climate Action Team, Sacramento, California, last modified December 3, 2009) |
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