U.S. National Interagency Fire Center Wildfire Releases Update for May 5, 2022

On Thursday (5-5-22), the U.S. National Interagency Fire Center (NIFC) reported that the 2022 wildfire season activity remains above seasonal norms. The NIFC offers this simple comparison as an example:

• Year-to-date through May 5, 2022, 22,693 wildfires had been reported and they had burned 1,264,214 acres.
• Year-to-date through May 5, 2021, 19,459 wildfires had been reported and they had burned 527,025 acres.
• The NIFC notes that past 10-year average, 2012–2021, for the same time period was 16,609 wildfires that burned 711,666 acres.

In today’s briefing, the NIFC is reporting that 1 new wildfire was burning in Colorado. Nationally, nearly 3,400 wildland firefighters and support personnel are assigned to 10 large fires. The Southwest area continues to have the largest fire activity, where five incident management teams are assigned.

There are currently 10 large and active wildfires burning across 293,222 acres in the U.S. There are 6 in New Mexico, 2 in Arizona, and 1 each in Colorado and Texas. As of this time only 1 of the 10 fires have some containment.

The Predictive Services staff at the NFIC has reviewed and confirmed the recent release of their National Wildland Significant Fire Potential Outlook for April through July. This outlook highlights several areas of the country with the potential for an above normal number of wildfires, as drought, heat, thunderstorms, and high winds all contribute to the potential of wildfires in those areas.