NC leads nation in wildfire risk as fall fire season approaches

As the fall fire season approaches in North Carolina, beginning in late September and running through early December, North Carolina remains the No. 1 state in the nation for wildfire risk in the Wildland Urban Interface, where human development and wildlands or forestlands meet. 

“North Carolina leads the nation in acres where development and structures adjoin with undeveloped wildlands and forests,” North Carolina Agriculture Commissioner Steve Troxler told Carolina Journal. “This significantly increases the risk of fire impacting homes and infrastructure and makes it extremely challenging for firefighters trying to contain and control wildfires. The number of acres that falls into this wildland urban interface increases every year because North Carolina continues to see strong growth statewide.”

In 2024, North Carolina ranked third in the nation for states with the largest share of wildfires, with 4,668 fires, according to Lending Tree. North Carolina fell behind only California and Texas, which ranked No. 1 and No. 2, respectively. In 2024 18,233 acres burned in North Carolina, accounting for 7.2% of all acres burned. 

North Carolina ranked No. 2 in the nation for states with the most buildings directly exposed to wildfire in 2024, according to Lending Tree, with 5,421,521 buildings, 68.2% of which were directly exposed. 

Little has changed since 2025, when North Carolina was the state at the highest risk for wildfires. 

“In all my years in agriculture, I’ve never seen a year like 2024 with the severity of the weather conditions and production conditions that we have, and throw on top of that low commodity prices. It’s been awful, and the result of that has been a $5 billion loss at the farmgate level,” Troxler told lawmakers in early 2025.

According to Jeffrey Dorfman and Blake Brown, both agriculture professors at North Carolina State University, the state suffered approximately $5 billion in losses in 2024 due to weather and production conditions.

The NC Forest Service responded to more than 5,600 wildfires burning over 34,000 acres between July 1, 2024, and June 30, 2025, according to a press release. This includes the wildfires that ravaged western North Carolina earlier this year. The leading ignition sources for human-caused wildfires include the use of machines and vehicles, backyard debris burning, arson, and escaped campfires.  

Prescribed burns have proven to be one of the most effective forms of wildfire management, and North Carolina is one of 11 southern states with a burn manager certification program. According to Margaret Young from the Fiscal Research Division of the North Carolina General Assembly, the NC Forest Service receives $1 million in recurring funds from the state budget to fund the Prescribed Burn Cost Share Program. The program helps private forest owners pay for prescribed burns as a form of forestry management. During the 2023-24 budget year, 170 burns occurred on more than 8,000 acres; 77% were on 100 acres or less. Cost share reimbursement to landowners totaled $190,419. 

“NC leads nation in wildfire risk as fall fire season approaches” was originally published on www.carolinajournal.com.