A new report from the Economic Research Service (ERS) at the U.S. Department of Agriculture found that most (87 percent) of the recent population growth in places with wildfire risk has been among persons age 60 and older. Already, the proportion of older people living in places with more wildfire risk is higher than in the population at large. In rural areas with the greatest wildfire risk, 35 percent of people living in those areas are age 60 and older. The report examines population aging and wildfire risk for States, counties, and fire management areas.
