Nearly 30,000 Firefighters Deployed Nationally; Military Aircraft and Crews Flood Into the Northwest

The scale of the 2026 wildfire response is staggering. As of August 14, 29,612 firefighting personnel are assigned to active wildfire incidents across the country — a workforce larger than the active-duty U.S. Army divisions deployed in many overseas conflicts. The vast majority of federal resources are concentrated in the Pacific Northwest, where 44 of the nation’s 93 large fires are burning.

Resource Mobilization at Preparedness Level 5

At National Preparedness Level 5, the National Multi-Agency Coordination (NMAC) Group, based at the National Interagency Fire Center in Boise, Idaho, is coordinating the movement of crews, equipment, and aircraft across the country. Resources are triaged: incidents with the greatest threat to life and property receive priority allocation when supplies are tight.

This triage reality means some fires receive only monitoring crews while larger resources are concentrated on the highest-threat incidents. Type 1 and Type 2 Incident Management Teams — the most skilled organizational structures in the wildfire response system — are fully committed across Oregon and Washington, with additional teams on rotation from neighboring regions.

Military Aircraft Supporting Fire Operations

Military C-130 aircraft equipped with Modular Airborne Firefighting Systems (MAFFS) are operating from bases at Klamath Falls, Oregon, and Redding, California, providing large-volume retardant and water drops in support of civilian air tanker operations. MAFFS are activated only when commercial air tanker resources are fully committed, underscoring how stretched the national airtanker fleet has become.

In addition to MAFFS, single-engine air tankers (SEATs), heavy airtankers, Very Large Air Tankers (VLATs), helicopters, and lead planes are operating at full capacity across the region. Air attack bases in Redmond, Missoula, Moses Lake, and elsewhere are serving as hubs for coordinating flight operations.

Resources on Key Incidents

Personnel and equipment assignments on major Northwest fires illustrate the depth of the response:

Little Giant Fire (WA): 2,122 personnel, 58 engines, 51 crews, 168 heavy equipment pieces, 28 water tenders, 5 helicopters
Sinlahekin Fire (WA): 1,600+ personnel with full Type 1 IMT
Big Grass Fire (OR): 1,000+ firefighters with VLAT and MAFFS support
Hagen Fire (OR): Multiple crews and engine resources protecting the Umatilla National Forest corridor

International Resources

The U.S. has also drawn on international agreements to supplement the domestic fire workforce. Crews from Canada, Australia, and New Zealand are operating in the United States under Emergency Management Assistance Compact (EMAC) and international agreements. These crews, experienced in large-fire environments in their home countries, have been integrated into suppression operations on several large fires in the region.

Volunteer and Local Resources Under Stress

Local volunteer fire departments near active fires are facing resource drawdown as their members are deployed to large fires under mutual aid agreements. Communities without active fire currently may find their local volunteer corps thinned, a known risk during high-demand PL5 seasons. County emergency managers are encouraging residents to review their personal preparedness plans and not rely solely on emergency services in a crisis scenario.