2026 US wildfire season

Why there's no "acres burned this year" headline number here

You'll see year-to-date "acres burned" totals quoted elsewhere. We don't publish one yet, on purpose. The authoritative year-to-date and end-of-season totals are compiled by the National Interagency Fire Center (NIFC), and summing the live feed ourselves would double-count re-reported fires and mix in non-wildfire incidents. When NIFC publishes the official 2026 statistics, we'll relay them here, attributed. Until then, the numbers on this page are explicitly live and computed, and labeled as such.

For the official multi-decade record — US wildland fires and acres burned every year since 1983, straight from NIFC — see US wildfire statistics. That's the historical context this season will eventually join.

Largest fires of 2026

The biggest wildfires we've tracked with a 2026 discovery date, largest first. Each links to its incident page — the size, containment, discovery date, and cause the agencies reported.

Every active fire on the map; the largest of 2026 are ranked in the table below — which is also the no-JS version of this map.

Source: NIFC WFIGS — retrieved Oct 2026 · 15 of 148 tracked 2026 fires · data as of 2026-10-13 14:11 UTC

Current large wildfires

The largest wildfires burning right now, by reported size — each links to its full record.

See every active fire in an affected state:

• See all fires in California →
• See all fires in Utah →
• See all fires in Oregon →
• See all fires in Colorado →
• See all fires in Washington →
• See all fires in Idaho →
• See all fires in Montana →
• See all fires in New Mexico →
• See all fires in Wyoming →
• See all fires in Alaska →
• See all fires in Texas →
• See all fires in Minnesota →

Source: NIFC WFIGS — retrieved Oct 2026 · 20 largest of 148 tracked active fires · data as of 2026-10-13 14:11 UTC

By state

Fire seasons differ by region. Jump to a live state map — active fires, smoke, and air quality for that state:

• California
• Utah
• Oregon
• Colorado
• Washington
• Idaho
• Montana
• Arizona
• New Mexico
• Wyoming
• Alaska
• Texas
• Minnesota

What "fire season" actually means

Fire season is the stretch of the year when conditions — heat, dryness, wind, and fuel — make wildfires most likely and hardest to control. It isn't a fixed set of dates; it shifts with the weather and varies sharply by region.

When is fire season?

There's no single national start date. Broadly, the Southwest and southern Plains peak in spring; the northern Rockies, Pacific Northwest, and California peak in late summer and fall; and the Southeast can burn in winter. Many western states now report fire activity year-round. The honest answer is that fire season is wherever conditions align— which is why a live map beats a calendar.

California fire season

California's most dangerous window is typically late summer through fall, when dry fuels meet offshore Santa Ana and Diablo winds. For what's burning in California right now, see the California fire map.

2026 wildfire season FAQ

How bad is the 2026 wildfire season so far?

This page shows the live count of active incidents and their combined acreage, updated from WFIGS. We deliberately don't rank the season "good" or "bad" against history until NIFC publishes official 2026 totals — that comparison is theirs to make, and we'll relay it when it exists.

Where do these numbers come from?

The active count and acreage are computed from the WFIGS interagency incident feed (NIFC), the same system of record fire agencies use. The largest-fires list is the subset of 2026-discovered incidents we track, each linking to its agency-reported record. See data sources & methodology.

Is this the official year-to-date acres burned?

No. It is a live snapshot, labeled computed. Official year-to-date and end-of-season totals are NIFC's; we relay those only once published, attributed.