More U.S. wildfires burned fewer acres in 2022 according to the recently-released annual wildland fire summary report from the National Interagency Coordination Center (NICC). The activity resulted in a lower involvement of aerial firefighting helicopters, below the ten-year average, with the exception of Type 1, heavy helicopters, which saw a slight increase.
During 2022, 68,988 wildfires burned 7,577,183 acres compared to 58,985 wildfires that burned 7,125,643 acres in 2021. However, burned acreage surged compared to historical averages in certain regions including Alaska and the southern lower 48 states. Burned Alaska acreage average increased by 170 percent, while 25 percent fewer fires in select southern states consumed 90 percent greater acreage. Altogether, the total amount of acreage consumed was close to historical five and ten-year averages, according to the NICC. Lightning strikes continued to be the leading cause of fire, accounting for 4.2 million acres burned, while human caused fires comprised the remainder.
During 2022 the NICC received 677 orders for helicopter assistance. Of those, 445 were filled, 87 were cancelled, and 145 were UTF (unable to fill). The NICC classifies helicopters as Types 1-3 by maximum takeoff weight; Type 1 is 12,501 pounds or more, Type 2 is 6001 pounds to 12,500 pounds, and Type 3 is up to 6,000 pounds. Of the helicopter requests received by the NICC in 2022, 288 were for Type 1, 209 were for Type 2, and 180 were for Type 3. For Type 1 requests, 211 were filled, 32 were canceled, and 45 were UTF. For Type 2 requests, 120 were filled, 30 were canceled, and 59 were UTF. For Type 3 requests, 114 were filled, 25 were canceled, and 41 were UTF. The ten-year average for mobilizations are 199 for Type 1, 167 for Type 2, and 111 for Type 3. Record mobilizations for Type 1 occurred in 2016 with 334; for Type 2 in 2006 with 323. Record statistics for Type 3 were unavailable.
While aggregate helicopter mobilizations fell slightly last year, requests for unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) “increased significantly,” according to the NICC, which formally began tracking those requests last year. During 2022, the NICC received 131 UAS requests; 51 were filled, 21 were canceled, and 59 were UTF.
The record year for individual fires occurred in 2006 with 96,385 while the record number of acres burned stands at 10,125,149 in 2015.