Fire agencies across the Pacific Northwest and nationally are accelerating resource mobilization as conditions indicate an early and potentially intense 2026 wildfire season. With national preparedness sitting at Level 2 (PL-2) and forecast models pointing toward elevated fire activity through late summer, managers are working to ensure crews, aircraft, and equipment are in position well before the historically peak July through September period.

National Preparedness Level 2

The National Interagency Coordination Center (NICC) in Boise has maintained a Preparedness Level 2 throughout the early summer, reflecting the elevated — but not yet extreme — demand on national firefighting resources. On a scale of 1 to 5, PL-2 indicates that fires are burning and resources are being mobilized, but national capacity has not yet been significantly strained. At PL-3 and above, interagency resource sharing and mobilization of Type 1 Incident Management Teams increases substantially.

As of the June 10 IMSR, approximately 2,336 personnel were assigned to incidents across the country, including one complex incident management team committed to the Seven Cabins Fire in New Mexico.

Northwest Coordination Center Monitoring

The Northwest Interagency Coordination Center (NWCC), based in Portland and serving Oregon, Washington, and Idaho, maintains daily situation briefings during fire season. Fire managers across the region are watching fuels conditions and weather forecasts closely, pre-positioning resources — particularly airtankers, helicopters, and engine crews — at strategic locations to enable rapid initial attack on new ignitions.

Pre-positioning is a critical strategy for the Pacific Northwest, where terrain, access roads, and variable weather can make response times to remote ignitions challenging. Getting aircraft and ground crews close to high-risk areas before fires start allows for faster suppression of small fires before they grow into large, costly incidents.

Airtanker Fleet and Aviation Resources

The U.S. Forest Service and contract aviation fleet — which includes large airtankers, single-engine airtankers (SEATs), and helicopters — will play a central role in early-season response across the region. The 2026 season sees continued use of Very Large Airtankers (VLATs) and next-generation airtanker assets to support aggressive initial attack.

Fire aviation managers stress that aircraft are most effective during initial attack — when fires are small — and that delay in requesting aviation resources significantly increases the risk that a fire will escape initial attack and grow into a large incident requiring a much more expensive and prolonged response.

Volunteer and Local Fire Department Readiness

In much of the rural Pacific Northwest, the first line of defense against wildland fires is not USFS crews but volunteer rural fire departments and local county fire districts. Agency fire managers are encouraging local departments to:

  • Ensure wildland firefighting personal protective equipment (PPE) is inspected and in serviceable condition.
  • Complete required annual wildland fire training refreshers for personnel who will respond to vegetation fires.
  • Coordinate with county emergency management on pre-incident planning for evacuation support roles.
  • Verify interagency radio cache and communications protocols are current.

With the season forecast to peak in late summer, agencies urge the public to also play a role: reporting new smoke or fire immediately via 911, avoiding fire-sparking activities during red flag conditions, and supporting local volunteer fire departments through community fundraising and recruitment.