On August 24, a contract firefighter with the USDA Forest Service suffered a medical emergency on the Bivens Creek Fire in Montana and passed away. The wildland fire community extends its heartfelt condolences to the firefighter’s family, friends, and fellow crew members. Every loss is felt deeply, reminding us of the risks faced daily by those who protect our communities and public lands.
So far in 2025, 45,867 wildfires have burned more than 4.1 million acres. The 10-year average for this date is 40,389 wildfires and 5.2 million acres. Currently, 19,045 wildland firefighters and support personnel are assigned to incidents nationwide, including 20 incident management teams, 384 crews, 943 engines, and 122 helicopters, four Modular Airborne Firefighting System (MAFFS) airtankers, and six U.S. Army medevac helicopters.
The 2025 National Fire Year Themes emphasize that it takes all of us: keeping firefighters and the public safe, working together to protect communities, reducing smoke impacts, and being responsible when enjoying public lands. As storms bring both the gift of rain and the risk of new ignitions across the West, our collective actions matter. By preventing human-caused wildfires, preparing our homes in the wildland urban interface, and staying aware of local conditions, we can reduce risks and help firefighters return home safely to their loved ones.
Widespread showers and scattered thunderstorms are expected across southern and central Idaho into western Wyoming into far southwest Montana with localized flash flooding possible, with debris flows possible on recent burn scars. However, to the north across much of Washington and northern Idaho, thunderstorms will be more isolated and drier with several new ignitions likely, especially from any ongoing thunderstorms in eastern Washington during the morning. Monsoon moisture will continue to slowly wane in southern California and the Southwest with the drying trend spreading into the rest of California, the central and southern Great Basin, and West Slope. Isolated to locally scattered wet thunderstorms will develop in these areas but be less numerous than the past few days. Relative humidity will remain elevated, however, with minima above 25%, except in California where humidity could drop as low as 10%. In the eastern US, a cold front is likely to move into the Upper Midwest with scattered showers and isolated thunderstorms, while the Northeast is likely to remain dry but with light winds. Dry conditions are also likely to continue from the Ohio Valley into the Southeast, with thunderstorms in Florida becoming more isolated and confined to the southern half of the state. More widespread thunderstorms are likely in Kansas and Oklahoma and spread into southwest Missouri overnight but miss most of Texas where thunderstorms will be isolated.
Daily statistics
Number of new large fires or emergency response * New fires are identified with an asterisk
