Yesterday, 125 new fires were reported nationwide, including three new large fires. Firefighters are currently working to contain 88 uncontained large fires, with 29,363 personnel assigned to incidents nationwide. These firefighters and support personnel working across the country to protect communities, critical infrastructure and public lands remain the backbone of the nation's wildfire response.
International partners are also providing critical support as fire activity remains high. Earlier this week, another group of firefighters and fire management specialists from Australia and New Zealand arrived at the National Interagency Fire Center in Boise, Idaho. Three 15-member incident management teams and 196 fireline management personnel from Australia and New Zealand are now assigned to support large fires in the Northwest and Great Basin geographic areas.
Two Large Airtankers and one Birddog from Manitoba, Canada, have also deployed to Boise in support of wildland fire operations. These international resources supplement the thousands of American firefighters and support personnel already working on incidents nationwide. Learn more about international support.
Weather
Another very hot, dry and windy day is expected to occur over the Southern Plains from eastern Kansas and western Missouri south through Oklahoma into much of Texas. Critical fire weather conditions are anticipated due to high temperatures in the upper 90s to lower 100s with southerly wind gusts of 20-30 mph and relative humidity values ranging from 25-35%. Farther west the monsoon moisture combined with a weak disturbance, tracking northeast off the northern California Coast will trigger additional thunderstorms. The most numerous storms will impact extreme southeast Washington, eastern Oregon and the southern half of Idaho. Isolated thunderstorms will also be possible over the Washington and northern Oregon Cascades and much of the Rockies. The other location which will see a high risk of fire weather concerns will occur over Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands where gusty winds will combine with low relative humidity values and very dry fuels. The last area of concern will be Hawaii due to the approach of Hurricane Lala which will deliver copious amounts of rainfall bringing severe flooding and mudslides especially on the Big Island.
