US National Interagency Fire Center Wildfire Update as of January 31

The US National Interagency Fire Center (NIFC) reported that as of Friday, January 31, wildland firefighters have contained the Hughes and Border 2 fires in Southern California. The Palisades fire is now 98% contained. However, those gains were offset by a sudden increase in wildfire activity in the Southern Area, where the NIFC is reporting four large new wildfires.

The National Fire Preparedness Level has been reduced back to 1 out of 5.

Daily Statistics

As of Friday morning, there were a total of 4 large wildfires burning, one each in California, North Carolina, Oklahoma, and Virigina. All 4 of those wildfires are being fought under full suppression strategies. Of those 4 new wildfires, 3 are currently considered contained.

The updated year-to-date comparison is as follows:

• Year-to-date through January 31, 2,128 wildfires have been reported, and they have burned 64,038 acres.
• During the same period last year, 963 wildfires were reported, and they had burned 4,769 acres.
• The 10-year average (2015–24) for the same time period is 1,369 wildfires and 21,869 acres burned.