Older populations (age 60) and wildfire risk in 2020 for project areas, firesheds, counties, and states

These data combine information on population numbers and older age population from the decennial Census 2020, with information on wildfire risk to quantify the number of older adults, and proportion of population that are older adults (age 60 and older), living in areas with wildfire risk (low, moderate, or high). Data were combined at census block (2020) geographies and then summarized to the state and county. Data are also summarized to fireshed and project areas, where firesheds are a broad scale geographic unit of prioritization used to plan wildfire risk reduction activities that are approximately 100,000 hectares in size, and project areas are smaller geographies within firesheds. Project areas are often used to help prioritize areas for forest management or hazardous fuel treatments and are approximately 10,000 hectares in area.
Wildfire risk and losses are increasing in the United States. At the same time, the average age of the population in the United States has been increasing. The older population (age 60 and older) has grown while the proportion of younger people has contracted (i.e., population aging). Older people face a greater relative risk of dying in a wildfire and need different kinds of resources and programs tailored to their unique needs to mitigate the risk from wildfire. Information about the combination of aging and wildfire risk across U.S. states, counties, and fire management areas (firesheds, project areas) can help identify where older people are living with wildfire risk and aid implementation of wildfire risk reduction programs.
For more information about this study and these data, see Winkler and Mockrin (in press).