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September 21, 2023 - Fifty-six large wildfires have burned 462,794 acres in 10 states. One new large wildfire was reported in Texas. More than 8,200 wildland firefighters and support personnel are assigned to incidents. This includes 160 crews, 374 engines, 77 helicopters and 11 incident management teams.
So far in 2023, 43,899 wildfires have burned 2,332,108 acres. People have ignited about 89% of the wildfires this year. Though most of these fires are caused by accident, many of them can be prevented. Preventing human-caused wildfires is really quite simple; be aware of the most common causes and know how to prevent a wildfire from starting. Become a part of the solution and recreate responsibly 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).
A strong upper low will remain across the northwestern US today, with scattered precipitation across the Inland Northwest and northern Great Basin becoming widespread across much of Montana and northern Wyoming and spreading onto the northern Plains. Snow will be likely above 7,000 feet, and snow levels could drop to 5,000 feet in areas. Gusty north-northeast winds up to 40 mph amid relative humidity of 20-50% will continue across southwest Oregon into northern California during the morning, gradually diminishing during the afternoon and overnight. Dry and breezy conditions will develop across the southern Great Basin, Desert Southwest, and West Slope ahead of a cold front. Isolated thunderstorms are likely in portions of the northern Great Basin and much of the Rockies onto the adjacent High Plains. Scattered thunderstorms will develop across much of the central and eastern Plains into the western Great Lakes, with severe thunderstorms likely on the central and southern High Plains into much of Oklahoma and north Texas. Another round of thunderstorms are likely from the central Gulf Coast to the Southeast Coast, including across Florida, with low relative humidity continuing in portions Texas and the Deep South.
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. |
56 | |
Acres from active fires | 462,794 | |
Fires contained | 2 |
Year-to-date statistics
2023 (1/1/23-9/21/23) | Fires: 43,899 | Acres: 2,332,108 |
2022 (1/1/22-9/21/22) | Fires: 51,689 | Acres: 6,682,998 |
2021 (1/1/21-9/21/21) | Fires: 45,339 | Acres: 5,700,268 |
2020 (1/1/20-9/21/20) | Fires: 43,785 | Acres: 7,012,294 |
2019 (1/1/19-9/21/19) | Fires: 38,181 | Acres: 4,350,463 |
2018 (1/1/18-9/21/18) | Fires: 48,458 | Acres: 7,334,709 |
2017 (1/1/17-9/21/17) | Fires: 48,612 | Acres: 8,552,286 |
2016 (1/1/16-9/21/16) | Fires: 43,959 | Acres: 4,869,943 |
2015 (1/1/15-9/21/15) | Fires: 47,146 | Acres: 8,920,752 |
2014 (1/1/14-9/21/14) | Fires: 40,054 | Acres: 3,026,331 |
2013 (1/1/13-9/21/13) | Fires: 38,401 | Acres: 4,011,485 |
10-year average Year-to-Date
2013-2022 | Fires: 44,566 | Acres: 6,041,356 |