US National Interagency Fire Center Wildfire Update for Week Ending May 31st

On Friday, the US National Interagency Fire Center (NIFC) reported that there are currently eight large, uncontained wildfires being managed with full suppression strategies across the country, including 3 in Arizona, 2 in California, and 1 each in Colorado, Florida, and New Mexico. Other large fires are being managed with strategies other than full suppression in Alaska, Florida, and New Mexico.

Approximately 2,266 wildland firefighters and support personnel are assigned to incidents across the US. The National Preparedness Level remains at a 2 out of 5.

As of Friday, 3 new large wildfires have burned 59,782 acres in 11 states. Three large wildfires were reported in Arizona, 3 in Florida, 2 each in California and New Mexico, and 1 wildfire in Alaska. The total number of wildfires fires contained stands at 3.

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

• Year-to-date through May 31st, 16,184 wildfires were reported, and they have burned 1,939,583 acres.
• During the same period last year, 18,280 wildfires were reported, and they had burned 511,498 acres.
• The 10-year average (2014–23) for the same period is 21,595 wildfires and 1,034,999 acres burned. The above-average number of acres is due to the wildfires in Texas in late February.