North American Wildfires & Their Impacts on Ecosystems and Infrastructure
Leila Khabbaz '28
Once a seasonal burden, wildfires are becoming a nationwide health crisis. With the rise of global warming, earlier annual melting of snow and decreasing amounts of summer rainfall have contributed to dry, hot climates. Wildfires are an inevitable and essential component of many ecosystems for removing dead vegetation, returning nutrients to the soil, and allowing diverse plant species to grow. However, more arid climates allow wildfires to spread faster and overtake more land, especially in northern and temperate forests. According to records from the National Interagency Fire Center, the number of wildfires from 1983-2024 was constant overall while the amount of land burned increased drastically (Campen, 2025). Wildfires often persist overnight because temperatures do not cool down enough, with wildfire seasons beginning in early spring and extending into late autumn. Wildfire exclusion, the practice of preventing all fires in a landscape, ultimately contributes to destructive fires because of overgrown forests and excessive fuel. Based on climate projections, area burned by wildfires in the Western United States is expected to double or even triple by 2050 (D'Evelyn et al., 2022).
Wildfires are a major source of carbon dioxide emissions, increasing levels of atmospheric greenhouse gases. Between 2001 and 2023 alone, carbon dioxide emissions from forest fires increased by 60% globally, which has significantly contributed to global warming (Campen, 2025). For instance, in 2023, Canada experienced its warmest and driest climate since 1980. In the same year, this climate evoked extreme wildfires that lasted for five consecutive months, releasing about 640 million metric tons of carbon into the atmosphere from the trees burned (Campen, 2025). The high levels of carbon dioxide in wildfires are creating irreversible damage to Earth’s climate.
Beyond the burning of forests and vegetation, the transportation of smoke from fires in the West Coast to the Midwest and from fires in Canada to the East Coast causes the spread of toxic chemicals. Wildfires pose a pressing threat to nationwide health and are predicted to cause 70,000 annual deaths by 2050 due to “climate-driven fire activity generating more smoke pollution across North America,” especially in California, New York, Washington, and Texas (“Wildefire smoke,” 2025). Wildfire smoke contains a range of toxic chemicals, particularly PM2.5, a fine particulate matter that penetrates the lungs and enters the bloodstream. Although exposure to PM2.5 is correlated with deteriorating health, its specific effects require more research in the context of wildfires. Researchers at Stanford University predict that excess PM2.5 smoke exposure has increased by more than 70% from 2011 (40,000 annual deaths) to 2020 (70,000 annual deaths) (“Wildefire smoke,” 2025). Smoke exposure poses an especially pressing threat to children, elderly, pregnant people, and those with pre-existing health conditions such as asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and poor cardiovascular health. In a study from Stanford University, deaths caused by wildfires could amount to $608 billion in annual damages by 2050, where global temperatures are projected to rise about 2°C above pre-industrial levels (“Wildefire smoke,” 2025). This estimation surpasses the expected cost of damages from other climate crises, including temperature-related deaths, agricultural losses, and storm damages.
Additionally, among smoke-exposed communities, climate-driven wildfires disproportionately affect Black, Latinx, and Native American communities. These marginalized groups experience a 50% greater wildfire health risk compared to predominantly White communities due to environmental inequalities (D'Evelyn et al., 2022). In order to mitigate environmental injustice, research initiatives and environmental changes are needed to provide effective solutions to the climate crisis and environmental justice.
Because many wildfire-affected communities do not have the means to relocate, it is important to invest in indoor air filtration to mitigate smoke exposure for the most vulnerable individuals, such as pregnant women, children in schools, and people with pre-existing health conditions. Beyond community initiatives, public health officials can implement ecological restoration in seasonally dry forests in Washington, Oregon, and California. Ecological restoration, the process of assisting the recovery of an ecosystem that has been degraded, damaged, destroyed, makes forests more resilient to rising temperatures and wildfires while promoting healthy regeneration (D'Evelyn et al., 2022). Although these restoration strategies will reduce the impact of smoke on affected communities, nationwide programs are also needed to better safeguard people’s health.
Ultimately, according to the National Library of Medicine, preventing wildfires requires transdisciplinary conversations between scientists, foresters, fire managers, and public health practitioners (D'Evelyn et al., 2022). Through the intersection of resources, knowledge, and new initiatives, the greatest impact can be made by learning from “Indigenous peoples who have successfully used fire as an ecological tool for thousands of years” without unleashing catastrophic wildfires (D'Evelyn et al., 2022).
References
Campen, C. (Ed.). (2025, May 28). Wildfires and Climate Change. National Aeronautics and Space Administration. Retrieved January 2, 2026, from
https://science.nasa.gov/earth/explore/wildfires-and-climate-change/#:~:text=Wildfire s%20als o%20can%20be%20a,by%20a%20warmer%2C%20drier%20climate Wildfire smoke could kill 70,000 Americans a year by 2050. (2025, September 19). ScienceDaily. Retrieved January 2, 2026 from
www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/09/250918225016.htm
D'Evelyn, S. M., Jung, J., Alvarado, E., Baumgartner, J., Caligiuri, P., Hagmann, R. K., Henderson, S. B., Hessburg, P. F., Hopkins, S., Kasner, E. J., Krawchuk, M. A., Krenz, J. E., Lydersen, J. M., Marlier, M. E., Masuda, Y. J., Metlen, K., Mittelstaedt, G., Prichard, S. J., Schollaert, C. L., Smith, E. B., … Spector, J. T. (2022). Wildfire, Smoke Exposure, Human Health, and Environmental Justice Need to be Integrated into Forest Restoration and Management. Current environmental health reports, 9(3), 366–385.
https://doi.org/10.1007/s40572-022-00355-7.