The United States is experiencing a severe early-season wildfire situation, with the National Interagency Fire Center maintaining a National Preparedness Level of 3 as 31 large fires continue to burn across the country and year-to-date acreage already exceeds last year's totals for the same period by more than 1 million acres.

National Statistics

As of June 23, 2026, NIFC reports the following statistics:

  • Total 2026 fires (year-to-date): 34,262 fires have burned more than 2.7 million acres nationwide — exceeding the 10-year average for both number of fires and acres burned at this point in the season.
  • Active large fires: 31 large fires are currently uncontained across 11 states.
  • Total active fire acreage: Approximately 284,529 acres currently burning.
  • Personnel assigned: Nearly 5,900 firefighters, dispatchers, aviation personnel, and support staff are committed to incidents across the country.
  • Incident Management Teams: Three Complex Incident Management Teams (CIMTs) are committed to managing large incidents.

Most Active States

Large fires are currently being tracked in the following states:

  • Alaska: 8 large fires
  • Utah: 5 large fires
  • Florida: 4 large fires
  • Arizona: 4 large fires
  • Washington: 3 large fires
  • Nevada: 2 large fires
  • North Carolina, Nebraska, New Mexico, Idaho, and Oregon: 1 large fire each

Pacific Northwest and Great Basin Focus

The Northwest geographic area is seeing rapidly developing conditions. New large fires in Washington and Oregon — the Garred Road Fire near Coulee City, WA, and the Lytle Fire south of Vale, OR — have both triggered evacuations and threatened structures within the past 72 hours. Both fires are exhibiting extreme fire behavior driven by flashy sagebrush and grass fuels, hot temperatures, and low relative humidity.

The Great Basin remains the most active geographic area in the country, operating at its own Preparedness Level 3. Several large fires in Utah and Nevada, including the Cottonwood Fire near Beaver, Utah, are seeing extreme fire behavior with numerous threatened structures. The Iron, Hastings, Grapevine, and Kane Springs fires also remain active in Utah.

Alaska Also Sees Significant Activity

Alaska contributed three new large fires to the national count on June 22, as warm, dry conditions continue across Interior Alaska. Eight large Alaskan fires are currently burning, including the Bear Fire (3,194 acres), Kilolitna Fire (3,663 acres), and the newly started Shaw Fire (2,483 acres) near Delta Junction.

Resource Demands Rising

NIFC notes that while current resource capability remains sufficient to sustain incident operations, geographic areas are increasingly utilizing national support to accomplish incident management objectives. The Level 3 designation reflects growing demand for firefighting resources and heightened fire potential across several regions as the summer fire season accelerates.

The Northwest, Great Basin, Southwest, and Alaska are all considered high-priority areas heading into what forecasters expect will be an above-normal fire season across the western United States.