Industry Experience/Wildfire
Wildfire — Industry Experience
Wildfire has emerged as a growing concern for nuclear power plants worldwide. An EPRI review of industry databases identified 23 wildfire events between 1990 and 2025 that threatened or impacted commercial nuclear power plants [3002032022]; all documented events occurred in North America, though wildfire risk is increasingly recognized at nuclear sites in other regions as climatic conditions evolve. The dominant plant-level consequence is electrical grid disruption — wildfires can physically destroy transmission lines and poles or cause protective relay tripping due to smoke-induced flashover, leading to loss of offsite power, reactor trips, and downpower scenarios.
Return to Industry Experience. | EPRI technical point of contact: Chris Rochon (CRochon@epri.com)
Date last reviewed: 2026-05-07