Currently, 14 large wildfires have burned 492,295 acres in 13 states. About 4,000 wildland firefighters and support personnel are assigned to incidents, including 1 complex incident management team, 69 crews, 496 engines, and 26 helicopters. Wildland firefighters and support personnel continue to assist with hurricane response and recovery in North Carolina.
On the tail of an extremely busy and challenging fire year, many fire personnel on public lands are shifting their focus to the critically important work of fuels treatments, which are a planned aspect of wildland fire and landscape management. Wildland fire management means using different kinds of strategies for managing wildfires. Sometimes it means firefighters ignite prescribed fires to reduce the underbrush and rejuvenate the landscape. Other times it means managing fires started naturally for beneficial effects. When wildland fires are threatening communities, historic places, and natural resources, fire management means putting the fire out or full suppression of the fire. Wildfire management requires land managers to use the right tool under the right conditions, a determination which takes knowledge, experience, and cooperation between stakeholders.
Weather
Lighter winds are expected across California through the weekend, with relative humidity gradually increasing over the weekend, although it will remain drier over inland California. After a dry day today, a series of Pacific storms will begin to move into the northwestern US this weekend, with the stronger storm on Sunday. Moderate to heavy precipitation, with snow in the mountains, is expected from the Cascades to the coast while light precipitation falls across the Inland Northwest to the northern Rockies. Dry and breezy westerly winds gusting to 40 mph amid relative humidity falls as low as 25% are expected today in the Mid-Atlantic and southern New England creating elevated to critical conditions. Winds will be lighter for the weekend, but very dry conditions will continue as relative humidity could drop to near or below 20%. A storm in the southern Rockies today will bring heavy snow, with moderate to heavy rain on the central and southern Plains. The storm will move east with moderate rainfall spreading into the Mississippi Valley and west slopes of the Appalachians this weekend. However, lighter precipitation is likely in the Upper Mississippi Valley, Great Lakes, and near the Southeast coast.
Daily statistics
Number of new large fires or emergency response * New fires are identified with an asterisk
5
States currently reporting large fires:
Total number of large fires under full suppression strategies
