2026 US Wildfire Season Tops 9 Million Acres, 147% of the 10-Year Average

The 2026 wildfire season has burned 9,000,619 acres nationwide as of Oct. 2, according to the National Interagency Fire Center (NIFC) — 147% of the 10-year average for this point in the calendar and nearly double last year’s pace. Activity has slowed sharply since summer: 11 large fires were being managed on Oct. 2, down from 26 on Sept. 25, with 4,093 personnel assigned to incidents.

The numbers so far

As of Oct. 2, NIFC’s National Fire News report put the year-to-date totals at:

• 62,738 fires nationwide (135% of the 10-year average)
• 9,000,619 acres burned (147% of the 10-year average)
• 11 large fires being managed, with 4,093 personnel including 65 crews, 119 engines, and 26 helicopters
• National Preparedness Level 2 on a 1–5 scale

For the same point in 2025, NIFC reported 53,319 fires and 4,692,890 acres. Compared with FireVerge’s Sept. 25 report (more than 8.5 million acres, 57,087 fires, 26 large fires, 6,824 personnel), the season has added roughly half a million acres in about a week, while the resources committed have fallen by more than a third.

A letter Democratic senators sent to the Interior and Agriculture secretaries on Sept. 11 cited an even starker year-over-year comparison: roughly 8.2 million acres burned nationally by the end of August, compared with about 4.1 million acres over the same period in 2025 — nearly double. The senators’ letter also noted that California alone had seen more than 310,000 acres burn by that point in the season.

A long stretch at full commitment

Federal fire managers maintained the highest national preparedness level, PL5 — meaning essentially all available federal firefighting resources were committed somewhere in the country — from July 18 through Sept. 4, per the senators’ letter. NIFC’s Oct. 1 outlook says the level dropped to 4 on Sept. 4, 3 on Sept. 9, and 2 on Sept. 22. The same period has also been costly in lives: the senators’ letter references nine first responders killed this season, including wildland firefighters and pilots.

What’s still burning

The Oct. 2 National Fire News report listed 11 large fires: five in Washington, two each in California and Oregon, and one each in Alabama and Texas. The largest are in Washington, where NIFC lists the Little Giant Fire at 172,896 acres and the Sinlahekin Fire at 166,007 acres. In Oregon, the Grasshopper Fire is listed at 93,972 acres, and in California the Timber Fire at 25,350 acres. The Dome Fire in Yosemite National Park appears at 5,855 acres in that report; the park’s own updates have since put it higher, at 6,632 acres on Oct. 3. See our story on the Dome Fire in Yosemite. NIFC also noted the Stone Bridge Fire in Oklahoma had been fully contained.

Outlook: the South stays at risk longest

NIFC’s outlook issued Oct. 1 covers October through January. It said the national total stood at 8,604,892 acres (141% of average) and 62,369 fires (134%) as of Sept. 30, and that fire activity “diminished quickly during September,” with only California and the Southern Area still moderately active at month’s end. For October, it forecasts above-normal significant fire potential in parts of north Texas and western Oklahoma, much of east Texas into the Lower Mississippi Valley, northeast Minnesota, northern Wisconsin, western Upper Michigan, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. By December, only Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands remain above normal. NIFC’s National Fire News summary says significant fire potential is expected to linger longest in the Southern geographic area (between eastern Texas and Kentucky) and Puerto Rico.

Budget strain

The same senators’ letter noted that federal fire suppression spending — more than $6 billion in FY2026 budget authority — had been nearly all spent by Sept. 2, following $5.9 billion spent in FY2025. Read more in our story on the senators’ warning about the firefighting budget.

Figures as of Oct. 2, 2026

Year-to-date, large-fire and personnel figures above reflect NIFC’s National Fire News report dated Oct. 2; the Sept. 30 totals come from NIFC’s Oct. 1 outlook, and the senators’ figures from their Sept. 11 letter. All are snapshots of a fast-moving season, and totals can still rise, particularly in the South.

Where to check current conditions

For a state-by-state look at how 2026 compares with prior years, FireVerge’s state pages track wildfire and structure-fire trends, and our rankings section shows how individual states and counties stack up. For live incident information, NIFC’s National Fire News and InciWeb remain the authoritative real-time sources — FireVerge’s own wildfire data, including our active-fires map, is a periodic snapshot rather than a live feed.