U.S. National Interagency Fire Center Wildfire Update for July 11th , 2022 – 19 New Wildfires Reported

The U.S. National Interagency Fire Center (NIFC) reported on Monday (7-11-22) that the total number of large wildfires and complexes currently burning in the U.S. has increased to 73, with more than 2,805,239 acres across 10 different states now ablaze. Two large new wildfires have been reported within the past 24-hours.

Most of the activity remains located in the state of Alaska where 56 wildfires are burning on over 2.6 million acres. There are 3 wildfires burning in Arizona, Texas, and Utah. There are 2 wildfires burning in California, and Nevada. And 1 each in Idaho, Montana, New Mexico, and Wyoming. The NIFC is reporting that as of today (7-11-22), that only 1 of the 73 wildfires has been partially contained. There are now 6,000 wildland firefighters and support personnel assigned to these incidents.

The current number of wildfires continues to exceed 2021 then record levels and is more than double the 10-year average.

The NIFC offers this simple comparison as an example:

• Between 1/1/22 through 7/11/22 – 35,711 wildfires have been reported and they have burned 4,845,026 acres.
• Between 1/1/21 through 7/11/21 – 33,941 wildfires had been reported and they had burned 1,868,143 acres.

They note that past 10-year average, 2012 – 2021, for the same time period, there were 28,989 wildfires reports which had consumed 2,461,442 acres.

Additionally, the NIFC is predicting that based on their recently updated long range weather forecasts, the number of wildfires will continue to grow as we head into the hottest and driest period of the year.

As part of their report, the NIFC continues to remind readers that we all play a valuable role in preventing wildfires. We all need to understand how to safely use outdoor equipment & vehicles, and by being aware of any fire restrictions in place that may affect activities like campfires and barbecues. Respect posted signage or notifications.