…Also almost certain to grow is the cost of battling wildfires. National costs have averaged $1.8 billion annually for the past five years, and the 2012 fire season was among the most expensive on record for many regions and states, according to Headwater Economics, a nonprofit research group.
But if just half of the private lands near public forests are developed in the future, annual firefighting costs “could explode to between $2.3 and $4.3 billion,” said Headwaters. By comparison, the Forest Service’s total average annual budget is $5.5 billion. of which $2.1 billion is used for firefighting…
—CNBC