Following one of the most resource-intensive wildfire seasons in Pacific Northwest history, firefighting agencies are beginning the process of demobilizing personnel, equipment, and aircraft as the 2026 fire season draws to a close. At the season’s peak, tens of thousands of firefighters and support personnel from across the country — and from international partner nations — were deployed to incidents across Oregon, Washington, and Idaho. As of mid-October, national resource deployment has dropped dramatically, with the National Interagency Coordination Center (NICC) reporting 1,820 firefighters and support personnel assigned nationally.

The Scale of the 2026 Mobilization

The 2026 fire season tested the national mobilization system to its limits. With Oregon’s fires alone burning more than 2.1 million acres — a state record — and large fires simultaneously burning in Washington, Idaho, California, and other western states, the national resource pool was strained throughout July, August, and September.

Resources deployed to Pacific Northwest incidents during the season’s peak included:

  • Type 1 and Type 2 Incident Management Teams (IMTs) from across the country
  • Interagency Hotshot Crews (IHC) from California, Arizona, New Mexico, and other western states
  • Smokejumpers from bases in Missoula, Redding, and the Redmond Air Center in Oregon
  • Single-engine air tankers (SEATs), large airtankers, and very large airtankers (VLATs)
  • Type 1 (heavy) helicopters with rappeler capability, including those that made the initial attack on the Sisi Fire in the North Cascades
  • National Guard support in Oregon and Washington for evacuation logistics

International and Mutual Aid

The season’s severity prompted activation of international mutual aid agreements. Canada and Australia both provided firefighting resources under longstanding reciprocal assistance arrangements — a practice that has become increasingly common as climate-driven fire seasons challenge domestic resource capacity across multiple countries simultaneously.

Equipment and Crew Rehabilitation

Demobilization is not simply a matter of sending crews home. Equipment that has operated in extreme conditions throughout a long season requires extensive inspection and maintenance before it returns to ready status. Chain saws, hand tools, engines, and dozers that have logged hundreds of hours on active fires must be evaluated, repaired, and restocked for pre-positioning ahead of 2027.

Crew rehabilitation — physical and mental recovery for firefighters who may have worked 14-day assignments back-to-back throughout the summer — is also a priority. Firefighter health and wellbeing has become an increasingly prominent topic in fire management discussions, with agencies expanding behavioral health resources available to returning crews.

Preparing for 2027

Even as resources demobilize, planning for next year’s season is already underway. The Redmond Air Center in Redmond, Oregon — one of the nation’s most important air attack bases for Pacific Northwest fire operations — will conduct maintenance and positioning work over the winter. Agencies are also evaluating lessons learned from the 2026 season to improve initial attack capability, communication systems, and resource ordering processes.

Fire managers warn that the conditions that produced the 2026 season — exceptional drought, above-normal temperatures, and heavy accumulated fuel loads — are not going away. Investments in pre-positioning resources, increasing initial attack capacity, and accelerating hazardous fuels treatments will be essential to improving outcomes in future fire seasons.