- 42,162 wildfires have occurred in the U.S. in the current year, destroying over 3.4 million acres.
- The largest wildfire currently burning in the U.S. is the Dragon Bravo Fire.
- In Canada, there are currently over 700 wildfires burning across the country.
As dry, hot weather continues in fire-prone areas, there are hundreds of wildfires currently burning across the U.S. and Canada.
Some of these wildfires continue to grow to massive sizes as firefighting crews work to contain them.
Here is a look at how many fires are burning in both the U.S. and Canada.
A look at U.S. wildfires by the numbers
According to the National Interagency Fire Center, there has been a total of 42,162 wildfires in the U.S. so far this year and over 3.4 million acres have been burned.
There were eight new fires reported across the country on Wednesday, as crews work to manage 42 uncontained large fires covering 576,316 acres.
A large fire is defined as “any wildland fire in timber 100 acres or greater, and 300 acres or greater in grasslands/rangelands, or has an Incident Management Team assigned to it,” according to the Northwest Interagency Coordination Center.
There are currently 10 incident management teams, 283 crews, 784 engines and 105 helicopters working to manage the wildfires burning in the U.S.
According to the National Interagency Fire Center, large fires are currently burning in 10 U.S. states:
- Colorado: nine
- California: six
- Idaho: six
- Washington: five
- Alaska: four
- Arizona: four
- Nevada: four
- Utah: two
- New Mexico: one
- Montana: one
Mark Tarello, a meteorologist for Fox 40, posted a map of all the active wildfires in the U.S. and Canada on X.
A look at the biggest fires burning in the U.S. right now
The biggest fire currently burning in the U.S. is the Dragon Bravo Fire in northern Arizona, which has burned over 126,882 acres and is considered a “megafire” since it’s grown over 100,000 acres, per the National Interagency Fire Center.
USA Today shared a video on X of a pyrocumulus cloud, also known as a fire cloud, that was produced by the Dragon Bravo Fire.
The Dragon Bravo Fire started on July 4, and on Tuesday, it was 13% contained, according to The New York Times. The fire is burning along the Grand Canyon, and last month it destroyed the historic Grand Canyon Lodge and dozens of other structures at the canyon’s North Rim.
Sean Parker, a professional photographer, shared a timelapse image he took of the Dragon Bravo Fire burning at the Grand Canyon.
Another large fire is the Gifford Fire, which is burning in central California and has burned 83,933 acres since it started last Friday, according to the National Interagency Fire Center.
So far, the Gifford Fire has been 9% contained and currently threatens over 800 structures. NBC News reported that three people have been injured by the fire burning through Los Padres National Forest.
On X, AccuWeather posted a video of the Gifford Fire captured by a California couple driving through the area.
The Monroe Fire, burning in Sevier County in central Utah, has burned 63,653 acres, according to the National Interagency Fire Center. The Monroe Fire is 15% contained.
How many fires are currently burning in Canada?
According to the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre, there have been six new fires reported on Wednesday as 752 active fires burn across the country.
So far this year, Canada has had 4,132 fires that have burned a total of 6.8 million acres.
Here’s a look at where the most fires are burning in Canada, according to the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre:
- Manitoba: 165
- British Columbia: 127
- Northwest Territories: 111
- Yukon: 100
- Saskatchewan: 81
- Ontario: 74
- Alberta: 64
Air quality concerns in the Midwest and Northeast
Smoke drifting south from Canadian wildfires is continuing to cause air quality concerns and hazy skies in multiple places across the American Midwest and Northeast.
According to CBS News, air quality alerts were in effect on Wednesday morning in parts of 10 states: Delaware, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Vermont, New York, Michigan, Illinois, Wisconsin and Minnesota.
There are also air quality concerns from fires burning in the Western U.S., with alerts in Colorado and Southern California on Wednesday, per Axios.
Certain groups, such as those with cardiovascular or respiratory disease, pregnant women, outdoor workers, older adults and children under 18, are more at risk to issues from the smoke in the air.