Nation at Preparedness Level 5: 88 Large Fires Strain Firefighting Resources Nationwide

The United States is fighting a two-front battle against fire and resource scarcity. As of July 25, 2026, firefighters are working to suppress and contain 88 large fires across the country — including 21 new large incidents reported in just the past 24 hours. The National Interagency Coordination Center (NICC) raised the National Preparedness Level to 5 on July 18, and it remains there today. Level 5 is the maximum on the nation's five-tier scale, signaling that firefighting resources are heavily committed and demand is expected to remain high.

Scale of the Deployment

Current nationwide resource commitments as of July 25 include:

23,065 firefighters and support personnel engaged
511 hand crews deployed across multiple incidents
1,297 engines assigned to structure and infrastructure protection
141 helicopters supporting aerial operations
28 complex incident management teams (IMTs) assigned nationally

Year-to-date, 41,984 fires have burned more than 4 million acres across the United States — a pace that is running well ahead of the 10-year average for fire activity.

Pacific Northwest at the Epicenter

Oregon leads all states with 21 large fires, followed by Minnesota with 6, California with 6, Washington with 5, and Idaho with 3. The Northwest Geographic Area, which encompasses Oregon and Washington, is also at Preparedness Level 5 — meaning the region's own resources are fully committed and most additional needs must be ordered through the national system.

The Northwest Interagency Coordination Center in Portland is serving as the logistics hub for resource ordering and coordination across state and federal agencies, including the Bureau of Land Management, U.S. Forest Service, National Park Service, Bureau of Indian Affairs, Oregon Department of Forestry, and Washington DNR.

What Level 5 Means for New Fires

When the national system reaches Level 5, new and growing fires may face delays in receiving the resources they need. Incident commanders may have to wait longer for additional crews, aircraft, or specialized equipment. Local initial attack resources — the first responders to new fires — become increasingly critical because backup may not arrive quickly.

This is why Stage 2 fire use restrictions and public fire prevention efforts take on even greater importance at Level 5: every human-caused ignition diverts scarce resources from already-burning incidents.

International Resource Requests

When domestic resources are exhausted, the U.S. can request firefighting crews through international agreements. The United States has mutual aid agreements with Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and Mexico. At this stage of the season, federal coordinators are actively monitoring the availability of international crews and whether formal requests should be made to supplement the national workforce.

Staying Informed