What It Costs

What It Costs

Wildfire-related costs -- including preparedness, suppression, and emergency rehabilitation -- currently account for 40-60% of the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (FWS) annual fire budget. Hazardous fuels reduction, in both the Wildland Urban Interface (WUI) and in non-WUI areas, accounts for most of the rest of the budget.

At current funding levels, the Service fire program is able to maintain approximately 70 percent of its lands in desirable condition, through the use of fuels treatments (mainly prescribed fire) and wildland fire use. Restoring and maintaining FWS lands in desirable condition leads to reduced risk of catastrophic wildfire and lower costs for fire suppression and emergency rehabilitation on lands that would otherwise be affected.

Overall, the Service accomplishes fuels treatment at less than half the cost per acre of any other federal agency. Using prescribed fire, the Service's primary fire management tool, is typically less than ten percent of the cost of mechanical means and provides the dual benefit of reducing fuels and providing natural ecosystem restoration and maintenance.

Treating neglected lands to reduce wildfire risk is much more expensive than maintaining restored lands. Over time, regular maintenance significantly reduces the escalating and shared costs of fire suppression, as well as the costs and risk factors associated with more complex fuels treatments.

Long-term maintenance of public lands in the most desirable ecological condition is the cheapest and most effective means to ensure reduced risk of catastrophic fire. In order to restore and maintain all Service-managed lands in desirable condition, fire managers estimate a need to double the number of acres currently burned each year.