Resources & Equipment

The nation has been at its highest wildfire preparedness level since July 20, with over 30,600 personnel, 1,856 engines, 204 helicopters, and 26 incident management teams fully committed across the West.

National Preparedness Level 5 has been in effect since July 18, with 30,132 personnel deployed nationwide. The Northwest GACC is also at PL5 as Oregon and Washington host nearly half the nation's active large fires.

International firefighters from Australia and New Zealand, four military MAFFS C-130 airtankers, U.S. Army soldiers, and 25 Incident Management Teams are among the resources deployed to fight Pacific Northwest wildfires as national resources hit their limits.

More than 18,000 firefighting personnel are assigned to Northwest incidents alone, with Australian and New Zealand crews, MAFFS C-130 airtankers, and 27 Incident Management Teams committed across the region.

With 27,400+ personnel nationally committed at Preparedness Level 5, international crews from Australia and New Zealand have arrived in the Northwest to help fight fires. Four MAFFS C-130 military airtankers are deployed to Klamath Falls and Redding to bolster aerial firefighting capacity.

With the Pacific Northwest at the epicenter of the 2026 fire season, NIFC has deployed 27 Complex Incident Management Teams, military MAFFS C-130 airtankers, and firefighters from Australia and New Zealand to assist overwhelmed resources across Oregon, Washington, and Idaho.

Over 27,900 firefighters are deployed nationwide, with more than 15,000 working fires in Oregon and Washington alone. The Washington National Guard, Oregon Army National Guard, active-duty Army troops, and out-of-state crews have all been mobilized as PNW resources reach capacity.

250 active-duty U.S. Army soldiers are mobilizing to fight Northwest wildfires, joined by four Air Force C-130 MAFFS aircraft, as national fire resources reach their limits at Preparedness Level 5.

The U.S. wildfire response system is at maximum capacity with 27,038 personnel, 587 crews, 1,615 engines, and 200 helicopters deployed nationwide. The Northwest, with 20 Complex IMTs assigned, is consuming an outsized share of national firefighting resources as the season continues to escalate.

The Northwest wildfire crisis has triggered deployment of international firefighting teams from Australia and New Zealand, MAFFS military air tankers, and Oregon National Guard assets as the region's 45 uncontained large fires push resources to their limits.

With 48 uncontained large fires and domestic resources stretched to their limits, NIFC has mobilized 74 fire management specialists from Australia and New Zealand, including a full 15-person Incident Management Team assigned to the Castle Fire in southern Oregon.

With the Northwest at National Preparedness Level 5 and resources fully committed, NIFC has mobilized 74 firefighting specialists from Australia and New Zealand to support Pacific Northwest suppression operations for the next 30 days.

Both the Northwest Geographic Area and the nation as a whole are operating at Preparedness Level 5 — the highest possible designation — as 90 large fires burn across the country. Oregon leads all states with 21 large fires, and resources are stretched thin.

With 88 large fires burning across the U.S. and both the National and Northwest preparedness levels at maximum Level 5, firefighting crews and equipment are stretched to their limits. Over 23,000 personnel are currently deployed nationwide.

The nation is at its highest wildfire preparedness level with 23,151 firefighters fighting 78 large fires nationally, including 37 in the Northwest alone. Year-to-date, U.S. wildfires have burned more than 4 million acres — a 34% increase over 2025.

With Oregon managing more large fires than any other state in the nation, the federal government has deployed military C-130 airtankers to Klamath Falls and Governor Kotek has invoked the Emergency Conflagration Act for the fifth time this year to marshal state and National Guard resources.

NIFC has raised the National Preparedness Level to 5 — the maximum — with 21,263 personnel, 492 crews, 1,159 engines, and 124 helicopters deployed nationally, plus MAFFS C-130 airtankers staged at Klamath Falls, Oregon and two California locations.

Military MAFFS C-130 airtankers from the Air Force Reserve have been deployed to Klamath Falls, Oregon, as the nation reaches National Preparedness Level 5 — the highest on the five-tier scale. More than 20,900 firefighters and support personnel are now deployed nationwide across 72 large fires.

The U.S. military has activated MAFFS-equipped C-130 airtankers from three Air National Guard and Air Force Reserve wings, deploying two to Klamath Falls, Oregon to support the Pacific Northwest fire response. The deployment comes as NIFC elevated the National Preparedness Level to 5 — the maximum — on July 18.

Two MAFFS C-130 airtankers from the Colorado Air National Guard have been deployed to Klamath Falls, Oregon, to support fire suppression in the Pacific Northwest. Nationally, firefighters are battling 78 large fires that have burned nearly 3.9 million acres year-to-date.