Labor market impacts of destructive California wildfires

The number of fires greater than 1,000 acres has trended upward in the past two decades. (See chart 1.) Wildfire season may start as early as May, peaks in July and August, and can last through the fourth quarter. (See chart 2.)

The map on the left in chart 3 shows the annual average number of structures destroyed by county between 2015 and 2020. Of 58 California counties, 26 counties had an average of 10 or more destroyed structures per year between 2015 and 2020. Fires occurred throughout California, but Northern California counties appear to have suffered from larger and more frequent wildfires. At the more extreme end, Butte County had an average of more than 3,000 destroyed structures per year, whereas Napa County had an average of 2,000 destroyed structures.

The map on the right in chart 3 shows the annual average LDI. Ten counties had an LDI higher than 1, that is, more than 1 destroyed structure annually per 1,000-county population. At the extreme end, both Butte and Napa Counties had an LDI of 14. Plumas County, a smaller county (with population less than 20,000) with many destroyed structures (nearly 500), had the highest LDI of 26. All three counties are located in Northern California.