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September 19, 2022 - Ninety-five large fires and complexes have burned 902,574 acres in 9 states. The most large fire activity is in Idaho where 38 large fires are burning, followed by Montana with 27 large fires. Two new large fires were reported in Oklahoma. Nearly 15,000 wildland firefighters and support personnel are assigned to incidents.
Red flag warnings are in effect today across most of Wyoming into southwest South Dakota and northwest Nebraska due to dry and windy conditions. Air quality alerts have been issued for parts of southern/central Oregon into this evening due to smoke from the Cedar Creek Fire. Visit the Predictive Services website for more information about current weather conditions and listen to the weekly fuels and fire danger podcast.
Several burned area emergency response teams are currently working on assessing the land after wildfires in California, Nevada and New Mexico. After a wildfire, the land may need to be stabilized to prevent loss of topsoil through erosion and prevent the movement of dirt into rivers and streams. Land management specialists and volunteers jump start the renewal of plant life through seeding and planting annuals, trees and native species that help retain soil and fight invasive weeds. It is a long-term process that comes alive as the fires die down.
Widespread rain will continue across the central and northern California coasts spreading inland through the Sierra into western Nevada and northward into portions of Oregon, with the heaviest rain likely on western slopes of the central Sierra. Flooding and debris flows are possible in/around the Mosquito Fire into tomorrow morning. A cold front will push south across Montana and the Dakotas, with west-southwest sustained winds of 12-20 mph gusting 25-35 mph amid minimum relative humidity of 8-25% ahead of the front in southern Montana, southeast Idaho, and much of Wyoming into western South Dakota. Behind the front, cooler temps, higher RH, and showers are likely across portions of northern/central Montana. South-southwest sustained winds of 12-20 mph gusting 25-35 mph amid minimum relative humidity of 8-20% will spread across the southern and eastern halves of Nevada into Utah, southeast California, and northwest Arizona.
Isolated to scattered thunderstorms are expected from eastern Arizona into southwest Colorado and central New Mexico. Strong to severe thunderstorms are likely in portions of North Dakota and Minnesota and from the eastern Great Lakes into the Northeast, including potentially heavy rain in portions of the Northeast. Hurricane Fiona will move through the Dominican Republic, with tropical storm conditions likely lingering on portions of Puerto Rico.
Number of new large fires or emergency response * New fires are identified with an asterisk |
2 | States currently reporting large fires: |
Number of active large fires Total does not include individual fires within complexes. |
95 | |
Acres from active fires | 902,574 | |
Fires contained | 0 |
Year-to-date statistics
2022 (1/1/22-9/19/22) | Fires: 51,169 | Acres: 6,789,438 |
2021 (1/1/21-9/19/21) | Fires: 45,118 | Acres: 5,658,315 |
2020 (1/1/20-9/19/20) | Fires: 43,556 | Acres: 6,925,192 |
2019 (1/1/19-9/19/19) | Fires: 37,916 | Acres: 4,345,335 |
2018 (1/1/18-9/19/18) | Fires: 48,268 | Acres: 7,321,787 |
2017 (1/1/17-9/19/17) | Fires: 49,978 | Acres: 8,541,096 |
2016 (1/1/16-9/19/16) | Fires: 43,695 | Acres: 4,827,458 |
2015 (1/1/15-9/19/15) | Fires: 46,598 | Acres: 8,846,257 |
2014 (1/1/14-9/19/14) | Fires: 39,927 | Acres: 3,002,842 |
2013 (1/1/13-9/19/13) | Fires: 38,208 | Acres: 4,006,080 |
2012 (1/1/12-9/19/12) | Fires: 46,929 | Acres: 8,606,918 |
10-year average Year-to-Date
2012-2021 | Fires: 43,834 | Acres: 6,201,256 |
Source: NIFC