Yesterday, 147 new fires were reported nationwide, including four new large fires. Firefighters are currently working to contain 76 uncontained large fires, with 29,509 personnel assigned to incidents nationwide.
The Northwest remains the nation's most active fire area, with 34 uncontained large fires, including two new large incidents since yesterday. Multiple fires continue to threaten homes, communities and critical infrastructure. Serious fire activity is widespread nationwide, with nine geographic areas reporting large fires.
So far in 2026, firefighters have responded to 49,242 wildfires that have burned more than 7.2 million acres across the United States, 129% of the 10-year average for fires and 168% 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.
Weather
Persistent very hot conditions are expected across southeast and south-central portions of the US where high temperatures will surge into the upper 90s to mid 100s. This will coincide with RHs in the teens and afternoon wind gusts of 20-30 mph resulting in high-risk triggers for significant fire. Hot, unstable, and potentially breezy conditions from thunderstorms could also develop over the lower Mississippi Valley. Over the western US, the main concern will revolve around very warm, dry and breezy conditions forming in the afternoon and evening across portions of the Great Basin, northeast California and the Cascade gaps in eastern Oregon and Washington. The latter locations will see wind gusts of 30-40 mph with RH values in the teens during the afternoon and early evening resulting elevated fire weather concerns. Over Alaska, most of the state will become cooler and wetter except for the Tanana Valley where precipitation isn’t expected at this time. Elsewhere in the US, the main feature will be very hot temperatures over the Desert Southwest and a strong cold front sweeping southward from the northern Plains. The front will deliver cooling temperatures and scattered thunderstorms across the Upper Midwest to the western Great Lakes.
