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August 7, 2023 - The loss of a wildland firefighter impacts us all. Benjamin Charles Sapper, a Forest Service firefighter employed by the Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest was killed in an on-duty vehicle accident on August 4 near Powers, Oregon. Our continued thoughts and support are with Benjamin's family, friends, and fellow firefighters.

Nationally, 87 large fires burned 512,836 acres in 12 states. Eight new large fires were reported, two in Texas and one in Arizona, California, Idaho, Oregon, Utah and Washington. To date, 31,382 wildfires have burned 1,257,389 acres, which is below the 10-year average of 35,011 wildfires and 3,897,571 acres burned.

More than 10,000 wildland firefighters and support personnel are assigned to incidents across the country. This includes 16 incident management teams, nearly 200 crews, more than 460 engines and 92 helicopters. One MAFFS C-130 airtanker and support personnel from the 153rd Airlift Wing (Wyoming Air National Guard) and one MAFFS unit from the 302nd Airlift Wing (Colorado Air Force Reserve) have been deployed to Klamath Falls, OR to support wildland fire operations nationally.

The National Significant Wildland Fire Potential Outlook and other valuable resources are available on the National Interagency Coordination Center website. Listen to the latest wildland fire potential outlook and the monthly seasonal outlook podcast for August through November.

Weather

Scattered showers and mixed wet and dry thunderstorms will continue over portions of the Inland Northwest and northern and central Rockies. Wetting rain is likely in areas of northeast Washington, north Idaho, and western Montana. Isolated to scattered mixed wet and dry thunderstorms are expected in eastern Arizona into southern and central New Mexico. Hot, dry, and windy conditions will develop from the deserts of southern California through the southern Great Basin and greater Four Corners region, with hot, dry, and occasionally breezy conditions continuing across much of Texas into the Lower Mississippi Valley. Scattered strong to severe thunderstorms are likely on the central and southern Plains and along and east of the Appalachians from Georgia to New England. Gusty southerly winds with above normal temperatures and relatively dry conditions are expected to continue in the Alaska Interior, and isolated thunderstorms are likely in the central and eastern Interior onto the North Slope. Gusty winds and minimum relative humidity below 50% are expected on all leeward locations of the Hawaiian Islands as Hurricane Dora approaches and passes to the south.