These regions see the worst wildfires

David McNew // Getty Images Wildfires are critical to maintaining a healthy, balanced ecosystem. They keep diseases and harmful pests at bay; clear dead, unhealthy, or overgrown vegetation, promoting new growth and habitats; and fortify the soil with vital nutrients. Some species, like pyrophytic plants, have adapted to naturally occurring, low-severity fires and even depend on wildfires in order to propagate. Each one of these benefits has countless, far-reaching impacts of its own. But human activity, negligence, and anthropogenic-driven climate change are disrupting the natural fire ecology in many regions. Although some wildfires occur naturally–those caused by lightning strikes, for example–the vast majority of wildfires do not. Between 2018 and 2022, 89% of wildfires were the result of human activity. Insurify cited data from the National Interagency Fire Center to identify which regions have experienced the worst wildfires over the past decade and highlight how 2022 compared. States are ranked by the 10-year average of acreage burned per wildfire. Wildfires are increasing in intensity Insurify Periods of extreme heat and prolonged drought are leading to larger, more destructive fires, though not a greater number of them compared to several decades ago. Since 2000, on average, 70,025 wildfires have burned 7 million acres each year across the country — more than double the annual average of 3.3 million acres in the 1990s, when a greater number of fires occurred each year. Changing fire ecologies vary from region to region. Factors such as the wildfire season starting earlier in the year (often coinciding with high seasonal winds) and severe drought in rangelands and shrublands (which essentially turns the landscape into tinder) greatly influence fire ecologies. #10. Northern California area PHILIP PACHECO // Getty Images – 10-year average — Area burned: 921,091 acres — Number of fires: 4,099 — Area per fire: 8.2 acres – 2022 numbers — Acres burned: 246,990 acres (73.2% less than 10-year average) — Number of fires: 3,429 (16.3% less than 10-year average) — Area per fire: 72.0 acres (779.5% greater 10-year average) – Worst year of the decade: 2020 (2.8 million acres) Driven by extreme heat and extended drought conditions, seven of California’s 10 largest wildfires on record have happened within the past five years. Ten of the state’s top 20 most destructive fires have also happened within the last five years and have burned a cumulative area of land roughly the size of Connecticut. #9. Eastern area