Wildfires Rage Across Several States as Extreme Heat Persists

Smoke rises from fires in Ruidoso, N.M., on June 17, 2024. (Pam Bonner via AP)

While many eyes have turned toward Hurricane Beryl in the Caribbean, wildfires continue to blaze across the Western United States as temperatures exceeding 100 degrees are expected to stick around.

The National Interagency Fire Center (NIFC), which is run by the U.S. Department of the Interior, reported on July 5 that there are 59 wildfires covering a total of 460,007 acres across nine states, and firefighters have responded with full suppression strategies for 21 of the fires. Nearly 9,000 wildland firefighters and supporting personnel have been assigned to the incidents across the nation.

The most active state is currently Alaska, where firefighters are working to suppress 39 large fires covering a combined 373,783 acres (approximately 584 square miles). These include “complexes,” which are incidents where more than one individual fire is close enough to be grouped together under one assigned management unit.

Largest Fires

As of July 4, the the Grapefruit Complex in Alaska consists of six individual fires across 87,434 acres about 40 miles north of Fairbanks, according to Alaska Wildland Fire Information, a federal and state interagency webpage. There are 313 personnel assigned to this complex, and firefighters are focused on protecting key structures such as the Trans-Alaska Pipeline, the Alyeska Pipeline, the Elliot Highway, the Dalton Highway, Native allotments, and other public and private structures.

The Bureau of Land Management’s Alaska Fire Service stated that as of the night of July 4, there were 165 active wildfires statewide. This includes the Riley Fire, which is currently burning in Denali National Park, covering 388 acres near the park entrance and Nenana River, according to Alaska Wildland Fire Information. The park remains closed for the time being and 173 personnel have been assigned to contain the fire.

Wet weather conditions have been reported in some areas, helping to slow the fires’ progress.

The next largest site of wildfires is California, where the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (Cal Fire) has been fighting more than 20 active incidents that started between June 24 and July 4. Six of those fires started on Independence Day and only one of them has reached 100 percent containment.

Cal Fire reports that 12 of the active incidents have reached a containment level of 80 percent or more, and significant progress from firefighters continues. Containment on the Thompson Fire, for example, has gone from 29 percent to 46 percent, which was enough to lift evacuation orders for about 17,000 people on July 4.

One of the California fires was found to have been caused by lightning, and another was caused by “equipment,” although no further details were available. The causes of the rest, according to Cal Fire’s website, are still under investigation.

Extremely hot and dry weather conditions are expected to continue through the weekend.

Temperatures in western states are expected to reach well above 100 degrees Fahrenheit for many locations on Friday and Saturday. In some places, the temperatures could reach 110 degrees or greater, and in the desert southwest region, highs of 120 degrees may be possible, federal forecasters with the National Weather Service said in a recent bulletin.

Southwest Fires

The third largest site of wildfires is New Mexico, where just three fires have covered 28,007 acres.

The largest fire, the South Fork Fire, has covered 17,569 acres alone and is 87 percent contained.

Beginning on the Mescalero Apache Reservation, this fire caused forced evacuations, damaged or destroyed more than 1,400 structures, and killed at least two people. Authorities announced on July 4 that it was started by a lightning strike after it was investigated by eight different agencies, including the Bureau of Indian Affairs, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Bureau of Land Management, and the FBI.

The second fire, the Salt Fire, has covered nearly 8,000 acres and is 84 percent contained. The cause of that is still under investigation and there is a $10,000 reward offered by the FBI for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the persons or persons responsible.

The NIFC also reports active wildfires in Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Oklahoma, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming.

So far this year, the center has reported 22,185 fires, covering 2.7 million acres. This is nearly four times as much acreage compared to the same time span last year, which saw 24,939 fires covering 697,258 acres.

For the same period in 2022, the NIFC reported that 32,499 fires affected 4.6 million acres, the highest year-to-date numbers of fires and acreage to be recorded between Jan. 1 and July 5 in the past 10 years.

Jack Phillips and The Associated Press contributed to this report.