Wildfires are unplanned fires caused by nature, including lightning, and human activities like unattended campfires, electrical failures, etc. Wildfires have become a growing problem exacerbated by climate change. Over the past three decades, wildfires have burned increasingly larger tracts of grasslands and forests. The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) found that from 2017 to 2021, 8 million acres were burned in the US, on average, “more than double the average amount from 1987 to 1991.” Wildfire suppression costs have also ballooned. The federal government spent on average $2.86 billion on suppression alone each year from 2017 to 2021, more than double the amount spent from 2007 to 2011.

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