Agency records of wildfires caused by firearms use in the United States

While previously disputed as a plausible ignition source, civilian firearms use has emerged as a wildfire cause of concern in the United States (US). The National Wildfire Coordinating Group (NWCG) included it as a newly recognized fire cause in the wildfire-reporting data standard approved in 2020. Here we report on shooting-caused wildfire ignitions using data mapped over to the new NWCG cause standard from historical wildfire records spanning 1992–2018. This is the first time that data on shooting-related fires have been assembled and summarized for the US, with the intention of raising awareness concerning this relatively small but impactful cause of preventable wildfires.