The National Interagency Fire Center has kept the US at National Preparedness Level 5, the highest level on the national wildfire scale, since July 18, the first time the country has reached that level since October 2024. As of mid-August, nearly 30,000 firefighters were assigned to incidents nationwide, with more than 44,000 fires having burned over 4.8 million acres so far in 2026, both above the 10-year average.
The demand on firefighting resources has been significant enough that NIFC requested additional crews from Australia, New Zealand, and Canada, with international teams arriving to help supplement stretched domestic resources.
What Preparedness Level 5 Actually Means
Reaching Level 5 means firefighting resources are heavily committed nationally, and it triggers what officials call a “drawdown” effect: departments in regions without active fires can see their own equipment and personnel pulled to support higher-need areas elsewhere, leaving those areas with thinner local coverage even if they aren’t dealing with fires themselves. At the time of the Level 5 declaration in July, crews were working to contain 78 large fires simultaneously.
Why This Year Has Been Worse Than Average
Both the fire count and total acreage burned in 2026 are running above the 10-year average, a combination that’s kept national resources stretched since mid-summer rather than easing after an initial spike. With international crews already supplementing domestic firefighters and the season not yet over, the country’s ability to respond quickly to any new large fire depends heavily on how much longer current fires take to reach containment.
