Researchers have been working on a system to measure and predict the destructiveness of wildfires – similar to the way officials use the magnitude scale for earthquakes. In the 1970s, wildfires destroyed about 400 homes across the US. Since 2000, wildfires have destroyed about 3000 homes per year, according to NIST.
http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/breaking-news/us-developing-richter-scale-for-fires/story-fni0xqll-1226726456432
