The United States entered its third consecutive week at National Preparedness Level 5 on Saturday, with 88 uncontained large fires burning across 17 states and nearly 3.96 million active acres. As of the August 15 National Fire News report from the National Interagency Fire Center (NIFC), 29,363 personnel are assigned to wildland fire incidents nationwide — a deployment scale not seen since the catastrophic 2020 fire season.

Pacific Northwest Leads Nation in Fire Activity

The Pacific Northwest remains the nation's most active fire region by a significant margin. Oregon accounts for 25 of the 88 large fires currently burning, while Washington contributes 17 and Idaho 6 — collectively representing more than half of all active large fires in the country. Montana adds another 8 large fires to the regional picture.

"Firefighters and support personnel working across the country to protect communities, critical infrastructure and public lands remain the backbone of the nation's wildfire response," NIFC stated in its daily update. The agency reported 125 new fires nationwide on August 15 alone, with three of those meeting the threshold for classification as large fires.

Year-to-Date Statistics Paint Historic Picture

Through August 15, the 2026 fire season has recorded 48,617 fires burning 7,202,974 acres — nearly double the acreage recorded over the same period in 2025 (3,731,100 acres) and well above the 10-year average of 4,250,682 acres. Only the 2017 season, which totaled 6,299,005 acres by this date, comes close to 2026's current pace.

  • 2026 YTD: 48,617 fires / 7,202,974 acres
  • 2025 YTD: 43,787 fires / 3,731,100 acres
  • 2024 YTD: 30,152 fires / 5,468,050 acres
  • 10-year average: 37,547 fires / 4,250,682 acres

Southern Plains Also Seeing Dangerous Conditions

While the Pacific Northwest dominates fire headlines, NIFC also flagged critical fire weather conditions developing over the Southern Plains on August 15. Portions of eastern Kansas, western Missouri, Oklahoma, and Texas were facing high temperatures in the upper 90s to lower 100s Fahrenheit, southerly wind gusts of 20–30 mph, and relative humidity values between 25–35%. Two large fires are actively burning in both Oklahoma and Texas.

International Support Augments Stretched Resources

With domestic firefighting resources stretched to their limits, international partners have stepped into critical support roles. Three 15-member Incident Management Teams and 196 fireline management personnel from Australia and New Zealand recently arrived at NIFC in Boise, Idaho, and have been assigned to support large fires in the Northwest and Great Basin. Two Large Airtankers and one Birddog aircraft from Manitoba, Canada, have also deployed to Boise in support of wildland fire operations.

The deployment of international resources underscores the extraordinary demands the 2026 fire season has placed on the nation's firefighting capacity. Officials caution that with weeks of fire weather still ahead, resources will remain tightly stretched across the western United States.