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Forest Fires: Why the Large Year-to-Year Variation in Forests Burned?

Author

Listed:
  • Jay Apt
  • Dennis Epple
  • Fallaw Sowell

Abstract

Quantifying factors giving rise to temporal variation in forest fires is important for advancing scientific understanding and improving fire prevention. We demonstrate that eighty percent of the large year-to-year variation in forest area burned in California can be accounted for by variation in temperature, precipitation, housing construction, electricity transmission, and ocean surface temperatures in the North Atlantic, North Pacific, and Equatorial Pacific. California is of particular interest because of its large acreage burned and proximity of fires to human populations. We believe our model is the first unified treatment of climatic factors and human activities that affect forest area burned.

Suggested Citation

  • Jay Apt & Dennis Epple & Fallaw Sowell, 2023. "Forest Fires: Why the Large Year-to-Year Variation in Forests Burned?," CESifo Working Paper Series 10679, CESifo.
    • Handle: RePEc:ces:ceswps:_10679
    as

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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. McCallum, Bennett T., 2010. "Is the spurious regression problem spurious?," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 107(3), pages 321-323, June.
    2. Moeltner, K. & Kim, M.-K. & Zhu, E. & Yang, W., 2013. "Wildfire smoke and health impacts: A closer look at fire attributes and their marginal effects," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 66(3), pages 476-496.
    3. Pullabhotla, Hemant K. & Souza, Mateus, 2022. "Air pollution from agricultural fires increases hypertension risk," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 115(C).
    4. Marco Turco & Maria Llasat & Jost Hardenberg & Antonello Provenzale, 2013. "Impact of climate variability on summer fires in a Mediterranean environment (northeastern Iberian Peninsula)," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 116(3), pages 665-678, February.
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    forest fires; climate; human activities; ocean surface temperatures;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • H - Public Economics
    • Q20 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Renewable Resources and Conservation - - - General
    • Q50 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics - - - General

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