Research finds cropland acts as buffer against wildfires in Western U.S.

A study published in Environmental Research Letters examined wildfire perimeter data for nearly 10,000 fires across the Western U.S. between 1985 and 2024. The research, co-led by Bea Gordon and Austen Lorenz, found that cropland serves as a landscape-scale buffer against wildfires across 11 Western states. Compared to wildlands, urban communities, and forests, cropland is less likely to be inside a wildfire burn scar.

The findings have implications for managing both water saving strategies and wildfire risk reduction. The research suggests that these two types of management should be handled jointly, given the persistent challenge of escalating drought and wildfire hazards in the Western U.S.