The National Preparedness Level increased to 3 (PL3) late last week as significant wildland fire activity continues across multiple geographic areas and the potential for additional large fires remains elevated in the days ahead. While current resource capability remains sufficient to sustain incident operations, geographic areas are increasingly utilizing national support to accomplish incident management objectives. The increase reflects growing demand for firefighting resources and heightened fire potential across several regions of the country.
There was a slight uptick in national fire behavior over the holiday weekend. Currently, firefighters are working on suppressing 31 large fires nationwide across 8 geographic areas. The Great Basin has the largest number of these large fires, with 11. The largest fire in the country today is the South Fork Fire in Nebraska, last reported at nearly 40,000 acres. However, the fire is 90% contained and reporting minimal fire behavior.
More than 5,000 personnel, including two complex incident management teams, are assigned to incidents nationwide. So far this year, 34,038 fires have burned more than 2.7 million acres.
With Juneteenth behind us, now many of us are looking ahead to the biggest fireworks holiday of the year. Unsurprisingly, every year wildfires are ignited by fireworks. Fireworks have no place on public lands, and even on your own property, must be handled with serious care. Did you know that sparklers, which are often thought of as child-safe, burn as hot as 1,200 degrees Fahrenheit and can cause third-degree burns? We all play a role in safety. Do not accidentally cause the fire that endangers your community! Learn more about firework safety here: https://www.nfpa.org/Public-Education/Fire-causes-and-risks/Seasonal-fire-causes/Fireworks
Weather
A high pressure ridge aloft will rebuild across the West today, bringing a warming and drying trend to the region. Relative humidity throughout the southern Intermountain West will fall into the single digits, and combined with breezy southwesterly winds, elevated to locally critical fire weather is likely. Lightning holdovers could emerge across portions of the northern Intermountain West that saw thunderstorms Friday into Saturday. Relative humidity will fall to as low as 10-20% away from the immediate cooling influence of the Pacific, with areas of single digit relative humidity possible across southeast Oregon into southern Idaho. Westerly wind gusts up to 30 mph will bring elevated fire weather to the Snake River Plain. Drought impacts, high temperatures well into the 90s and breezy conditions will lead to increasing fire risks in the Carolinas, while scattered thunderstorms may bring new ignitions and gusty outflow winds to the Florida peninsula. Alaska will continue to see scattered showers and thunderstorms, with new lightning ignitions most likely in the central and eastern Interior.
Daily statistics
Number of new large fires or emergency response * New fires are identified with an asterisk
