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September 29, 2023 - Thirty-two large wildfires have burned 365,438 acres in nine states. New large wildfires were reported in Colorado and Utah. About 5,200 wildland firefighters and support personnel are assigned to incidents nationwide. Nine incident management teams, 98 crews, 213 engines, and 42 helicopters are assisting with suppression efforts.
As we head into fall, fire activity is ongoing in several states. Wildland firefighters need you to do your part to prevent wildfires. Whether working to create defensible space around your home, mowing the lawn, or pulling your dirt bike over to the side of the road, if you live in a wildland area you need to use equipment responsibly. Lawn mowers, weed-eaters, chain saws, grinders, welders, tractors, and trimmers can all spark a wildland fire.
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).
West-southwest sustained winds of 10-15 mph gusting 20-30 mph amid minimum relative humidity of 8-20% will develop across southern and eastern portions of the Great Basin, western Colorado, southern Wyoming, northern Arizona, and into southeast California and southern Arizona. Above normal temperatures will continue across the southern half of the Intermountain West as well. Southerly wind gusts of 20-35 mph, minimum relative humidity of 10-25%, and temperatures in the 90s are expected across portions of the southern and central Plains, but isolated thunderstorms are possible on portions of the southern High Plains into the Trans Pecos and southern New Mexico. Thunderstorms will develop across Florida and along the Gulf Coast, but hot and dry conditions are likely across portions of the Southeast through the Lower Mississippi Valley into much of Texas and Oklahoma. Thunderstorms and showers will move across the eastern Dakotas through Minnesota into the western Great Lakes. Precipitation will spread south across much of Oregon, northern California, and into portions of northwest Nevada.
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. |
26 | |
Acres from active fires | 237,891 | |
Fires contained | 2 |
Year-to-date statistics
2023 (1/1/23-9/29/23) | Fires: 44,195 | Acres: 2,442,088 |
2022 (1/1/22-9/29/22) | Fires: 53,605 | Acres: 6,885,264 |
2021 (1/1/21-9/29/21) | Fires: 46,091 | Acres: 5,907,288 |
2020 (1/1/20-9/29/20) | Fires: 44,161 | Acres: 7,524,840 |
2019 (1/1/19-9/29/19) | Fires: 39,667 | Acres: 4,360,331 |
2018 (1/1/18-9/29/18) | Fires: 49,245 | Acres: 7,770,032 |
2017 (1/1/17-9/29/17) | Fires: 49,526 | Acres: 8,464,884 |
2016 (1/1/16-9/29/16) | Fires: 45,121 | Acres: 4,880,788 |
2015 (1/1/15-9/29/15) | Fires: 49,282 | Acres: 9,055,454 |
2014 (1/1/14-9/29/14) | Fires: 40,616 | Acres: 3,024,151 |
2013 (1/1/13-9/29/13) | Fires: 38,817 | Acres: 4,092,849 |
10-year average Year-to-Date
2013-2022 | Fires: 45,514 | Acres: 6,181,730 |
Source: NIFC