The wildfire firefighting system in the United States is operating at its maximum capacity, with both the national and the Northwest Geographic Area sitting at Preparedness Level 5 — the highest possible designation, reserved for conditions where demand for firefighting resources significantly exceeds supply. Reports from fire managers and industry observers describe a resource landscape that is stretched thin across virtually every category, from Type 1 crews and engines to air tankers, helicopters, and incident management teams.

What Preparedness Level 5 Means

The National Preparedness Level is set by the National Multi-Agency Coordinating Group based on the overall severity of fire conditions, the number of resources committed to active incidents, and the availability of national resources for emerging fires. PL5 means:

  • All national firefighting resources are fully committed or unavailable
  • Local and regional resources are operating with minimal reserve capacity
  • New large fires starting in this environment will face significant competition for resources
  • International assistance agreements may be activated to bring in resources from Canada, Australia, or New Zealand
  • Agency administrators are authorized to maximize resource ordering from all available sources

More Than 22,000 Personnel in the Field

As of August 25, more than 22,183 firefighters and support personnel are assigned to active wildfire incidents nationwide. This represents a massive logistical and human effort involving Type 1 and Type 2 Interagency Hotshot Crews, contract crews, helicopter crews, engine strike teams, air tanker and lead plane crews, logistics support personnel, and incident management teams at all levels.

In the Pacific Northwest alone, with 40 large active fires across Oregon, Washington, and Idaho, resources have been continuously cycled through one major incident to the next throughout the season. Several incidents have been managed with "suppression difficulty" designations, indicating that full suppression is not currently achievable with available resources and that managers are focusing on protecting lives, homes, and critical infrastructure.

International Resources

The U.S. Forest Service and NIFC have activated Emergency Resource Sharing agreements with both Canada and Australia this season, bringing in additional crews and technical specialists to fill critical gaps. International crews are currently assigned to incidents in multiple geographic areas, including the Northwest.

Resource Competition Creating Cascading Challenges

The scarcity of firefighting resources has real consequences for fire outcomes. When resources are committed to large, established fires, fewer assets are available for initial attack — the critical first hours when a new fire is most vulnerable to containment. Industry observers and fire management professionals have described conditions this season as some of the most challenging they have seen in terms of the gap between resource demand and availability.

For current resource deployment and incident staffing information, the NIFC Incident Management Situation Report is available daily at nifc.gov.