The National Interagency Fire Center raised the national wildfire preparedness level to 5 — the maximum on the five-tier scale — on July 18, 2026. It is the second time in two years the nation has reached maximum preparedness, a reflection of what fire ecologists and land managers have long warned is becoming the new normal: longer, more intense fire seasons driven by drought, warming temperatures, and decades of accumulated fuels in federal forests.
What National Preparedness Level 5 Means
National Preparedness Level 5 signals that firefighting resources across the country are heavily committed and that demand for personnel, equipment, and aircraft is expected to remain high. At this level, the national coordination system begins triaging resource requests — prioritizing incidents where life safety is most immediately at risk and where structures and critical infrastructure are threatened.
At NPL 5, federal firefighters and support specialists can be redirected from home units across the country to where they are most needed. Currently, more than 21,000 people are working to fight 70 large uncontained fires across the nation — a figure that includes hand crews, engine crews, helitack teams, logistics specialists, finance personnel, and aviation support.
Congressional Action: Progress and Gaps
Congressional attention to wildfire funding has increased in recent years, but advocates say progress remains uneven. A bill directing the Government Accountability Office to study federal programs, rules, and authorities that affect wildfire risk and response passed the Senate by unanimous consent in June 2026, offering hope for more coordinated policy in the future.
However, significant funding gaps remain. For fiscal year 2026, Congress declined to fund a key step in expanding the nation's large airtanker capacity, directing a feasibility study instead. That study contract has not yet been awarded, and results are not expected until late 2026 at the earliest — meaning the airtanker fleet that firefighters depend on will not see meaningful expansion before another fire season is in the books.
Wildfire Prevention Funding at Risk
Prevention funding — which pays for prescribed burns, mechanical fuels treatments, and forest health work that reduces the risk of catastrophic fires — faces a precarious outlook. California, which often serves as a leading indicator for broader national trends, could see its annual prevention funding drop from more than $600 million to approximately $150 million under current federal budget proposals, according to estimates from the Wildfire Solutions Coalition, a group representing more than 80 organizations.
The Pacific Northwest faces similar concerns. Federal fuels treatment programs on national forests in Oregon, Washington, and Idaho have long waiting lists of projects that require funding to execute. Fire managers argue that every dollar spent on prevention and fuels reduction saves multiple dollars in suppression costs — and, more importantly, protects communities and ecosystems from the most devastating outcomes.
The Long View
Fire scientists emphasize that the scale of the current crisis is not simply a product of bad luck or unusual weather — it is the predictable result of accumulated fuels, climate change, and development patterns that have placed more homes in fire-prone landscapes. Addressing the root causes requires sustained investment in prevention, prescribed fire programs, and land management — investments that require political will and stable, adequate funding.
For now, firefighters on the ground in Oregon, Washington, and Idaho are doing the work with the resources they have. But the policy conversation happening in Washington, D.C. will shape how well-equipped and prepared those firefighters are in the seasons to come.