US National Interagency Fire Center Wildfire Update as of May 9

The US National Interagency Fire Center (NIFC) reported that in the week ending May 9, eight new fires were reported nationwide.

A total of 950 firefighters and support personnel were deployed in response. The National Fire Preparedness Level remains at a 1 out of 5.

Wildfire activity is increasing across the southern US, particularly in the Southern and Southwest areas, where persistent drought and above-average temperatures have dried out vegetation, creating prime conditions for large wildfires, the NFIC said.

The latest NIFC Predictive Services outlook for May indicates an elevated wildfire potential for portions of the Southwest, including Arizona, New Mexico, and parts of Texas, where dry, windy conditions are expected to persist. Southern California and central Florida also face heightened fire risk as warm, dry weather patterns settle in. Meanwhile, regions in the Northern Plains and Upper Midwest are expected to see a return to drier conditions, increasing the risk of grassland fires.

Daily Statistics

As of Friday, there were eight large new wildfires burning, all being fought under full suppression strategies and partially contained. There are currently three wildfires burning in Florida, two in North Carolina, and one each in Arizona, Montana, New Mexico, North Dakota, and Pennsylvania. There are a total of 31,288 acres burning.

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

• Year-to-date through May 9, 24,415 wildfires have been reported, and they have burned 1,018,298 acres.
• During the same period last year, 9,190 wildfires were reported, and they had burned 1,846,331 acres.
• The 10-year average (2015–24) for the same time period is 17,121 wildfires and 993,424 acres burned.