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September 19, 2023 - Currently, 63 large wildfires have burned 481,722 acres in 12 states. More than 8,700 wildland firefighters and support personnel are assigned to incidents across the nation. Since January 1, 43,085 wildfires have burned 2,192,903 acres. This is below the 10-year average of 44,285 wildfires and 6,042,200 acres burned.
Wildland firefighters need your help to prevent wildfires this fall. Motorists are responsible for many of the wildfires sparked along roadways. Remember, dragging chains can throw sparks. Driving onto dry grass or brush can start fires. And worn brakes may cause metal to metal contact and can spark. Please do your part to recreate responsibly and prevent wildfires while enjoying your public lands.
The predictive services staff at the National Interagency Coordination Center released the National Significant Wildland Fire Potential Outlook for September through December. The current wildland fire potential outlook and the monthly seasonal outlook podcast is also available.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) continues to work with state and local agencies in Hawai‘i. Some national parks in Hawai‘i have been affected by wildfires. For the latest on closure status, recovery, and travel please visit: Wildfires affecting Hawaii - Hawai'i (U.S. National Park Service) (nps.gov).
An upper low will slide southeast from British Columbia into Washington overnight, with an upper low moving onto the southern and central California coast. Showers will develop in western Washington likely spreading into northwest Oregon and northern Washington, but dry and breezy conditions are expected for portions of the Inland Northwest. A stalled surface front stretching from northern California through the northern Great Basin will be a focus for additional dry and breezy conditions, with enough residual moisture to produce isolated to scattered thunderstorms in the central Sierra and from northeast Nevada into northern Utah, southeast Idaho, Wyoming, and the Colorado Rockies. Stronger winds aloft will also mix down to create locally elevated fire weather conditions in central Idaho, southwest and eastern Montana, and North Dakota. Scattered thunderstorms are likely from northwest Texas through Oklahoma into the Midwest, including severe thunderstorms in Oklahoma. Low relative humidity will develop from the Lower Mississippi Valley into portions of Texas, where breezy southerly winds are likely to overlap. Isolated to scattered thunderstorms are likely in South Florida, while showers are likely in Upstate New York and northern New England.
Number of new large fires or emergency response * New fires are identified with an asterisk |
1 | States currently reporting large fires: |
Number of active large fires Total does not include individual fires within complexes. |
63 | |
Acres from active fires | 481,722 | |
Fires contained | 6 |
Year-to-date statistics
2023 (1/1/23-9/19/23) | Fires: 43,085 | Acres: 2,192,903 |
2022 (1/1/22-9/19/22) | Fires: 51,166 | Acres: 6,801,009 |
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 |
10-year average Year-to-Date
2013-2022 | Fires: 44,286 | Acres: 6,042,200 |
Source: NIFC