Extreme weather conditions are only becoming more normal as climate change ravages the world, and the United States isn't being spared. Prolonged drought, elevated heat and unexpected shifts in weather have increased the scale of wildfires we've faced on average, but not everybody will be impacted in the same way.

The HouseFresh team took 2023 data from the National Interagency Fire Center regarding the number of fires, what caused them and how big they got, then put together these beautiful visualizations. They even have some additional county-level data, but we'll be looking at the state-level info here.

Key findings:

• While some wildfires are bound to happen normally, the rate at which human-caused fires happen has exploded in recent years. In 2023, a shocking 72.6 percent were our fault.

• Last year, California had the most land burned: 344,878 acres. Alaska came in second with 295,105 acres, and Arizona rounded out the top three with 218,286 acres.

• Connecticut enjoyed zero acres-worth of wildfires last year, and Delaware was hot on their heels with just 0.2 acres. Small, damp states certainly have a benefit here.

• Arizona saw the biggest year-over-year increase in acres burned with 70,733 acres. Meanwhile Alaska dropped off from its catastrophic 2022 with a decrease of 2,818,744 burned acres in 2023.

Click images to enlarge

We've previously explored where you're at higher risk for house fires. If you're looking to move, check there first.

Via HouseFresh.

[Image: Justin]