Wildfires, Drought Caused $11.2 Billion Losses To Private West Coast Forests

"A new study from Oregon State University estimates that wildfire and drought caused $11.2 billion in economic losses to privately owned timberland in California, Oregon and Washington over the past two decades.

The study, which analyzed sales of private timberland over 17 years along with wildfire and drought data, found that most of the losses were not due to forests burning directly but the perception that forests could burn due to neighboring fires.

“This study shows that climate change is already reducing the value of western forests,” said Oregon State economist and study co-author David Lewis. “This isn’t a hypothetical future effect. These are damages that have already happened because it is riskier to hold assets like timberland.”"

Tribune News Service had the story December 9, 2023.