TL;DR: U.S. fire managers report Preparedness Level 1 nationally as of October 14, 2026, with 13 large fires and 149,502 acres from active fires listed on October 16, while Canadian agencies list 149 active fires and FireRadar counts 78 active provincial records totaling 1,010,139 hectares on October 18.

U.S. national picture on October 16-19

According to the National Interagency Fire Center, the national preparedness level dropped to PL1 at 7:30 a.m. MDT on October 14, 2026, on a scale from 1 to 5.

The National Interagency Fire Center reports that geographic areas can accomplish incident management objectives utilizing local resources with little or no national support. The agency states that conditions are not favorable to support significant wildland fire activity in most geographic areas. The agency states that resource capability is adequate with little or no mobilization of resources occurring through the National Interagency Coordination Center. The agency states that potential for emerging significant wildland fires is expected to remain minimal.

According to the National Interagency Fire Center report dated October 16, 2026, firefighters were working to contain 11 large fires across the country. That report lists 1,820 firefighters and support personnel assigned to incidents, including 18 crews, 113 engines, and 9 helicopters.

The daily statistics in that same National Interagency Fire Center report list 2 new large fires or emergency response incidents. The report lists states currently reporting large fires and a total number of 13 large fires. The state breakdown is California with 4, Michigan with 3, Oregon with 2, Washington with 1, Wyoming with 1, Oklahoma with 1, and Mississippi with 1. The report lists acres from all active fires at 149,502 and fires contained at 0.

According to the National Interagency Coordination Center, updated Monday, October 19, 2026 at 05:54, the totals were 12 large fires, 3 total new large fires, 64,919 year-to-date wildfires, 674,494 acres burned on large fires, 4,360 personnel assigned to wildfires, and 9,037,447 year-to-date acres burned.

The Incident Management Situation Report for Sunday October 18, 2026 at 0730 MDT, also at National Preparedness Level 1, lists initial attack activity as light with 85 fires. That report lists 3 new large incidents, 4 large fires contained, and 12 uncontained large fires. No Complex Incident Management Teams and no National Incident Management Organization teams were committed in that report.

Year-to-date totals remain above average

According to the National Interagency Fire Center, year-to-date, 64,718 fires have burned more than 9 million acres, at 132% of the 10-year average number of fires and 143% of the average acres burned for this date.

The year-to-date statistics table for January 1, 2026 to October 16, 2026 lists fires at 64,718 and acres at 9,028,873. The table lists 2025 at 55,569 fires and 4,753,997 acres, 2024 at 42,594 fires and 7,859,370 acres, 2023 at 47,925 fires and 2,531,890 acres, 2022 at 56,449 fires and 6,940,567 acres, 2021 at 47,675 fires and 6,499,507 acres, 2020 at 46,033 fires and 8,343,839 acres, 2019 at 43,509 fires and 4,454,812 acres, 2018 at 49,899 fires and 8,155,195 acres, 2017 at 51,435 fires and 8,769,877 acres, and 2016 at 48,986 fires and 4,913,184 acres.

The 10-year average for 2016-2025 in that table is 48,906 fires and 6,316,574 acres.

California: four large fires listed

According to the National Interagency Fire Center, California had 4 fires totaling 34,682 acres, with 2 new and 0 contained in the October 16 listing.

The Dome fire on Yosemite National Park under the National Park Service was listed at 6,788 acres and 95% containment, located north of Wawona Dome. The Henderson fire was listed at 2,079 acres and 20% containment, located three miles north of Oceanside, California. The Norte fire under Orange County Fire Authority was listed at 465 acres and 0% containment, located one mile northwest of San Clemente, California. The Timber fire on Los Padres National Forest under the U.S. Forest Service was listed at 25,350 acres and 97% containment, located approximately 4 miles southeast of Big Sur, California, with contact number listed as (805) 549-3318.

The Incident Management Situation Report for October 18 describes Henderson on Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton with grass, brush and chaparral, minimal fire behavior, critical infrastructure threatened, and road closures in effect. That report lists Henderson at 3,160 acres and 50% containment with an estimated containment date of October 19 and 485 total personnel.

The same October 18 report describes Norte with grass and chaparral and active fire behavior with smoldering, creeping and running, with numerous residences threatened and road and trail closures in effect. That report lists Norte at 570 acres and 25% containment with an estimated containment date of November 6, with 583 total personnel and 5 structures lost.

The same report describes Timber with grass, timber and chaparral and minimal fire behavior with creeping and smoldering, with area, road and trail closures in effect. That report lists Timber at 25,350 acres and 97% containment with an estimated containment date of November 1 and 153 total personnel.

Oregon and Washington activity

According to the National Interagency Fire Center, Oregon had 2 fires totaling 106,860 acres in the October 16 listing.

The Austin fire on Mt. Hood National Forest under the U.S. Forest Service was listed at 12,888 acres and 98% containment, located 25 miles southeast of Estacada, Oregon. The Grasshopper fire on Mt. Hood National Forest under the U.S. Forest Service was listed at 93,972 acres and 98% containment, located 14 miles southwest of Dufur, Oregon.

The October 18 Incident Management Situation Report describes Austin with brush, timber and closed timber litter and minimal fire behavior with smoldering, with area, road and trail closures in effect. It describes Grasshopper with brush, hardwood litter and closed timber litter and minimal fire behavior with creeping and smoldering, with area, road and trail closures in effect.

According to the National Interagency Fire Center, Washington had 1 fire totaling 4,615 acres. The Sisi fire on Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest under the U.S. Forest Service was listed at 4,615 acres and 34% containment, located 10 miles northwest of Stehekin, Washington.

The October 18 report describes Sisi with timber and closed timber litter and moderate fire behavior with smoldering, backing and flanking, with residences threatened and area, road and trail closures in effect.

Michigan, Mississippi, Oklahoma and Wyoming listings

According to the National Interagency Fire Center, Michigan had 3 fires totaling 1,422 acres with 0 contained.

The Black River fire under Michigan Department of Natural Resources was listed at 350 acres and 70% containment, located four miles south of Wakefield, Michigan. The Craig Lake 1 fire under Michigan Department of Natural Resources was listed at 606 acres and 70% containment, located seven miles northwest of Michigamme, Michigan. The Ridge fire under Michigan Department of Natural Resources was listed at 466 acres and 40% containment, located six miles north of Negaunee, Michigan.

The October 18 report describes Ridge with timber and hardwood litter and minimal fire behavior with smoldering, with structures threatened and trail closures in effect. It describes Black River with timber and grass and minimal fire behavior with smoldering, with residences threatened. It describes Craig Lake 1 with hardwood litter and timber and minimal fire behavior with smoldering.

According to the National Interagency Fire Center, Mississippi had 1 fire at 150 acres. The Mount Pilgrim Road fire under Mississippi Forestry Commission was listed at 150 acres and 10% containment, located twelve miles northeast of Canton, Mississippi.

According to the National Interagency Fire Center, Oklahoma had 1 fire at 128 acres. The South White Wolf fire under Oklahoma Division of Forestry was listed at 128 acres and 75% containment, located five miles southeast of Broken Bow, Oklahoma.

According to the National Interagency Fire Center, Wyoming had 1 fire at 1,645 acres with 0 contained. The Pk fire in Sheridan County under county jurisdiction was listed at 1,645 acres and 85% containment, located ten miles west of Sheridan, Wyoming.

Canada: national count and provincial breakdown

According to the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre, the National Preparedness Level was 1, described as wildland fire activity is minimal and most jurisdictions experience light or moderate wildland fire danger. The agency states that demand for firefighters and equipment from other jurisdictions is light.

According to the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre, the National Fire Situation Report dated September 29, 2026 was the final National Situation Report for 2026, with reports to start up again in spring of 2027. The agency dashboard lists 1 new fire today, 149 active fires, 5,503 year-to-date fires, and 4.5 million hectares in area burned year-to-date.

According to FireRadar, with latest reported source update October 18, 2026 at 1:40 p.m. PDT, the latest available records list 78 active official fires from participating provinces and territories. The 48-hour out or extinguished total is unavailable because extinguishment times are not supplied. FireRadar states that record updates do not establish when a fire went out. The 78 active records with a usable reported size total 1,010,139 hectares.

FireRadar groups Canadian wildfire agencies' status terms and lists out of control at 0, being held at 11, and under control at 61. It states that 72 of 78 official records in this snapshot match these three common categories and other records keep the status published by their source.

FireRadar lists jurisdictions with active fires at 4 and notes that local active-fire data is not currently available from Prince Edward Island or Nunavut. The province and territory totals list British Columbia with 64 active and 405,299 hectares, Alberta with 1 active and 1 hectare, Ontario with 10 active and 498,055 hectares, and Quebec with 3 active and 106,783 hectares. It lists Saskatchewan, Manitoba, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Newfoundland and Labrador, Yukon, and Northwest Territories at 0 active in this snapshot.

FireRadar lists 1 active fire with an agency first-reported time in the past 48 hours: Alberta RWF-075-2026 on October 17, 2026 at 11:40 a.m. PDT, listed as under control.

The largest reported active fires listed by FireRadar include Ontario THU036 at 301,240 hectares under control, British Columbia Pear Lake at 165,909 hectares under control, Quebec Riviere Martigny at 72,479 hectares under observation, British Columbia Ainslie Creek at 69,705 hectares being held, British Columbia French Bar Creek at 61,050 hectares under control, Ontario FOR014 at 51,928 hectares under control, Ontario DRY034 at 45,800 hectares under control, and Ontario FOR015 at 42,273 hectares being observed.

FireRadar states that its dashboard counts the latest available official provincial and territorial incident records and that national records and satellite hotspots are excluded to avoid double-counting. It states that hectares include only active records with a reported size and that missing sizes are not treated as zero.

What households can do now

According to the National Interagency Fire Center, in fire-prone areas, yard work can protect property from wildfires by creating defensible space. The agency lists pruning trees six to ten feet above the ground, removing dead leaves and branches and disposing of them, keeping lawn green and short, storing firewood away from the house, having a plan for family and pets for a fire emergency, and checking home and landscape preparation information at Firewise.org.

According to the National Interagency Coordination Center, Southern California was at Preparedness Level 3, Northern California at Level 2, Great Basin at Level 2, Rocky Mountain at Level 2, Eastern at Level 1, and Southern at Level 2 as of the October 19 update. Households in Southern California counties near Oceanside, San Clemente, and Big Sur can check road, trail and area closures listed in the October 18 Incident Management Situation Report before travel.

According to FireRadar, it is an informational map, not an emergency authority, evacuation service, or fire-spread forecast, and users should follow provincial, territorial, municipal, Indigenous, and emergency officials. U.S. households can apply the same rule: follow the listed agency unit, county office, and local emergency services for evacuation and closure orders tied to the named fires above.

Sources referenced