The 2026 wildfire siege in the Pacific Northwest has pushed federal and state firefighting resources to their limits, triggering an unprecedented drawdown of military personnel and an international mutual aid response involving hundreds of firefighters from Australia and New Zealand now on American soil.
Military Deployment: JBLM Soldiers Join Modrite Fire
As reported by the National Interagency Fire Center (NIFC) on August 11, 240 soldiers from the 1st Battalion, 23rd Infantry Regiment, 7th Infantry Division — based at Joint Base Lewis-McChord (JBLM) south of Tacoma — are currently deployed to support wildland fire operations on the Modrite Fire near Inchelium, Washington.
An Incident Management Organization (IMO) has been assigned specifically to coordinate and support the military contingent, ensuring they are integrated safely and effectively into fire suppression operations. Military personnel deployed to wildfires typically perform tasks such as hand line construction, mop-up, patrol, and camp support — work that frees trained wildland firefighters for more technical suppression activities on the fire line.
The Modrite Fire has burned 57,133 acres and is 60% contained as of August 10. It started from a lightning strike on July 17 in Ferry County, burning through timber and rangeland west of Lake Roosevelt.
International Reinforcements: Australia and New Zealand
The scale of the 2026 fire season has also triggered international mutual aid protocols. The National Multi-Agency Coordinating Group (NMAC) at NIFC activated agreements with Australia and New Zealand in late July to bring fire management specialists to the United States.
An initial contingent of 74 personnel from Australia and New Zealand arrived in late July. On August 11-12, up to 250 additional fire management specialists from both countries were scheduled to arrive in the U.S. The incoming international crews are scheduled to participate in a comprehensive orientation and national briefing at NIFC in Boise on August 13-14 before deployment to active incidents across the West.
The U.S. maintains formal reciprocal resource-sharing agreements with Australia, Canada, Mexico, New Zealand, and Portugal. The Southern Hemisphere partnership with Australia and New Zealand is particularly valuable: because their fire seasons run roughly opposite to the U.S. calendar, both countries are typically in their winter (low fire activity) period when the American West is at peak fire risk.
National Resource Strain
With nearly 30,000 personnel assigned to fire incidents nationwide and the country at National Preparedness Level 5, the pipeline of available domestic resources has been fully committed. The combination of military and international support represents a critical buffer that allows incident management teams to maintain suppression pressure on the most dangerous fires in the Northwest.
NIFC is also coordinating the arrival of additional equipment, aircraft, and specialty resources from the Eastern U.S. and other lower-activity regions to support the ongoing western fire siege.