National Fire News

August 17, 2026

Yesterday, 92 new fires were reported nationwide, including four new large fires. Firefighters are currently working to contain 80 uncontained large fires, with 28,710 personnel assigned to incidents nationwide.

The Northwest remains the nation's most active fire area, with 37 uncontained large fires. Several fires continue to threaten homes, communities and critical infrastructure, including the Little Giant Fire in Washington and the Grasshopper, Hagen and Wrights Spring fires in Oregon. Evacuations and area, road and trail closures remain in effect on multiple incidents. Fire activity also remains significant in the Great Basin, where the Widemouth 2 and Black Canyon fires in Utah continue to threaten residences and infrastructure, with evacuations and closures in effect. 

So far in 2026, firefighters have responded to 48,960 wildfires that have burned more than 7.2 million acres across the United States, 129% of the 10-year average for fires and 169% for acres burned. 

As this summer has seen fires across the country consume thousands of acres, it is important to remember that early suppression of new fire starts remains a vital objective. The vast majority of wildfires are contained within 24 hours of their discovery, also known as the initial attack stage; these fires do not get large enough to be listed on the incident management summary report. Prepositioning firefighters and firefighting resources strategically for initial attack, especially in areas where predictive services have identified a potential for large fire growth, is a critical consideration during the busiest part of the fire year and must be balanced with the tremendous need for resources to fight large fires.