US National Interagency Fire Center Wildfire Update for August 16

The US National Interagency Fire Center (NIFC) reported that as of Sunday, August 16, 80 large uncontained fires are actively burning across the country, with four new large fires reported in the last day.

The National Fire Preparedness Level remains at 5 out of 5. A total of 28,710 wildland firefighters and support personnel are assigned to incidents nationwide.

The Northwest remains the nation’s most active fire area, with 37 uncontained large fires. Several fires continue to threaten homes, communities, and critical infrastructure, including the Little Giant Fire in Washington and the Grasshopper, Hagen, and Wrights Spring fires in Oregon. Evacuations and area, road, and trail closures remain in effect on multiple incidents.

Fire activity also remains significant in the Great Basin, where the Widemouth 2 and Black Canyon fires in Utah continue to threaten residences and infrastructure, with evacuations and closures in effect.

Daily Statistics

As of Sunday, there are 80 large wildfires or emergency responses ongoing, with 3,851,842 acres burning. Three fires are contained.

Oregon leads with 21 active fires; Washington has 15; Montana has eight; Colorado and Idaho have five each; Minnesota, Nevada, and Oklahoma have four each; New Mexico and Utah have three each; California and South Dakota have two each; and Florida, Louisiana, and Virginia have one each.

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

• Year-to-date through August 16, 48,960 wildfires have been reported, burning 7,270,038 acres.
• During the same period last year, 43,989 wildfires were reported, burning 3,766,499 acres.
• The 10-year average (2016–25) for the same period is 37,954 wildfires and 4,299,363 acres burned.