The U.S. National Interagency Coordination Center has identified 76 large uncontained fires and 3 contained fires across 14 states. Active fires have burned 2,807,497 acres so far; the year-to-date total is 40,161 fires that have burned 4,063,267 acres. To date in Canada, 3,515 fires have burned 2.43 million acres.
In many western areas of the United States and Canada, every year brings the risk of wildfires, especially between August to November. The 2020 season has started with intensity with fires in several states and provinces. The Center for Disaster Philanthropy (CDP) is following all fires and reporting on the largest and most destructive ones. Please see our What We’re Watching: Weekly Disaster Update blog every Tuesday afternoon for more updates.
The National Interagency Fire Center’s (NIFC) National Interagency Coordination Center (NICC) releases monthly outlooks for the entire country. In their Sept. 1 update, they said: “Following a brief pause in activity in California and a cessation of seasonal activity elsewhere across the West, large fire potential is expected to increase in October and November in wind prone areas across the state. The expectation of drier than average conditions and a higher probability of more frequent Foehn Wind events suggests that significant large fire potential will be elevated until winter sets in during December.”
Dozens of major fires are burning across North America. As of Sept. 14, according to NIFC, there are over 30,000 firefighters and support personnel assigned to wildfires. The current fires have burned more than 4.6 million acres in 10 states.