WASHINGTON (June 17, 2025)—The 2025 North American wildfire season is well underway with large swaths of the United States expected to experience above-normal wildfire conditions in the months ahead, according to the National Interagency Fire Center. The Center’s most recent outlook shows elevated wildfire risk for much of the U.S. Southwest and Northwest—including in Arizona, California, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon and Washington. Hawaii, Minnesota and Texas are also facing above-normal wildfire conditions during the months of July and August. Meanwhile, drought conditions in Western Canada have contributed to early large fires in May, and an above-normal fire season is forecast for the region.
Beyond those directly in the path of wildfires, millions of people across the country will also need to contend with air quality compromised by wildfire smoke carried hundreds, even thousands, of miles away. Worsening climate-fueled wildfires are also significantly disrupting property insurance markets, with higher costs and limited availability taking a toll on people’s pocketbooks.
Check out the blog post “Wildfires Are Getting Worse. Trump’s Science Cuts Could Threaten Our Response” and the new blog post “Worsening Wildfires Contribute to Increasingly Unaffordable Insurance and Housing Costs” by Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) experts for the organization’s more detailed take on the upcoming wildfire season.
This wildfire season began during an unrelenting assault by the Trump administration on federal agencies and the lifesaving safeguards they provide. This includes cutting staff and funds for vital agencies such as the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), as well as advancing a draft budget that cut deeper still. The administration’s actions will leave people across the United States increasingly at risk especially during Danger Season—the time roughly from May through October when hurricanes and other disasters worsened by climate change are at their peak and increasingly likely to collide with one another.
Below is a statement by Dr. Carly Phillips, a scientist with the Science Hub for Climate Litigation at UCS.
“Danger Season has only just begun and already communities in the United States and Canada are facing evacuations and dangerous smoke conditions—an ominous harbinger of what’s to come in the months ahead. In addition to the concerning seasonal outlook, the federal government’s ability to identify, track and respond to wildfires could be in serious jeopardy in light of the Trump administration’s proposed cuts to staff and programs at NOAA, FEMA and the USDA. While some states, including California, are working to become more resilient to climate change in the face of worsening wildfires, this is costly and challenging. It also takes time. Meanwhile, the administration’s gutting of federal agencies is sure to leave more people and property in harm’s way.”
UCS experts are available to speak about the following wildfire-related topics:
- How climate change is fueling more intense wildfires and creating a longer wildfire season, as well as the role of forest management.
- The role of fossil fuel producers in increasing U.S. wildfire risks.
- The connection between drought, water management and wildfires in the western United States.
- Impacts on the property insurance market and homeowners’ pocketbooks.
- The contribution of wildfires to global warming emissions and air pollution.
- The growing costs of wildfires and how some places are trying to combat them, including with the passage of Prop. 4 in California.
- The effects of wildfires on nearby energy infrastructure and transmission.
- Ways existing racial, socioeconomic and public health disparities are exacerbated.
- How reducing carbon emissions and investing in climate preparedness can increase community resilience, limit future economic damages and prevent loss of life.
Dr. Phillips and other UCS experts available have experience doing live and taped TV, radio and print interviews with major national and international media outlets. Spanish-speaking experts are also available.
Additional UCS Resources and Analyses:
- A peer-reviewed study by UCS titled “The Fossil Fuels Behind Forest Fires: Quantifying the Contribution of Major Carbon Producers to Increasing Wildfire Risk.
- A peer-reviewed study by UCS evaluating how wildfires in carbon-rich boreal forests could use up a significant portion of the remaining carbon budget.
- A UCS report titled “Keeping Everyone’s Lights On: How to Build an Equitable, Climate-Resilient Power Grid.”
- A UCS report titled “Decades of Deceit: The Case Against Major Fossil Fuel Companies for Climate Fraud and Damages.”
- UCS blogposts from this and previous Danger Seasons.