- Over 100 large wildfires are currently burning across multiple U.S. states, consuming over 1,000,000 acres.
- One of the fires burning in Utah formed a rare weather phenomenon known as a fire vortex.
- The Canadian province of Manitoba has issued its second fire-related emergency declaration of the year.
As some parts of the country are experiencing heavy rains and flash floods, other places are seeing hot and dry conditions that have led to multitudes of major fires burning over 1,000,000 acres across the U.S.
Over 100 large fires are currently burning across the U.S. in multiple states such as Alaska, Utah, Oregon and California. One of the multiple fires burning in Utah formed a fire vortex on Sunday.
There are also many major fires burning in Canada since May. So far this year 13.8 million acres have burned across the country. Volunteers from Utah have been deployed to Canada to help support evacuees.
How many major wildfires are burning across the U.S. right now?
Wildfires in the U.S. are burning in areas currently afflicted by heat and drought, per The Washington Post.
Critical fire weather conditions, which include strong winds, dry lightning and low humidity are expected to continue in portions of Utah, Nevada, north Arizona and Colorado.
“Fuels across these areas are extremely dry and ready to burn. New fires could ignite easily and spread rapidly, making today a day for caution,” per the National Interagency Fire Center.
The National Interagency Fire Center reported that as of Tuesday morning there were 102 large fires burning across the U.S., covering a total of 1,055,631 acres.
A majority of these fires, 65, are burning in Alaska. Here’s how many large fires are burning in other U.S states according to the National Interagency Fire Center:
- Oregon: 6
- Washington: 5
- Utah: 5
- California: 5
- New Mexico: 3
- Nevada: 3
- Arizona: 3
- Colorado: 3
- Idaho: 2
- Montana: 1
- Florida: 1
Throughout the country right now 15,276 wildland firefighters and support personnel are working to contain these fires and protect lives and landscapes, per the center. These personnel are supported by 373 crews, 694 engines and 123 helicopters.
Most of these large fires burning throughout the country were started by lightning strikes, according to The Washington Post.
In Arizona, two major fires are burning near the Grand Canyon’s northern rim. The White Sage Fire has burned over 50,000 acres, and the Dragon Bravo Fire has covered around 5,000 acres and destroyed dozens of structures at the Grand Canyon’s North Rim.
Less than 100 miles northwest of Las Vegas, Nevada, the Gothic Fire has scorched over 36,000 acres of rural and government lands, per The Washington Post.
New Mexico’s Turkeyfeather Fire in the west-central part of the state grew over 20,000 acres over last weekend. In Northern California’s Shasta County a wildfire grew over 10,000 acres causing a number of evacuations and injuring two firefighters.
Over the last week over 300,000 acres have burned due to multiple fires scorching across Alaska.
Multiple wildfires currently burn across Utah
According to the National Interagency Fire Center, there are currently five large wildfires burning in Utah: the Deer Creek, Forsyth, Gap, Mica and Monroe Canyon fires. In total these fires have burned 30,136 acres.
The largest of Utah’s fires is the Forsyth fire which has burned 15,673 acres, it is located around 15 miles north of St. George.
On Sunday, Utah’s second largest fire, the Deer Creek Fire, formed a fire vortex, also referred to as a firenado, fire whirl or pyrogenetic tornado, per KSL.com.
This rare weather phenomenon is a “spinning vortex column of ascending hot air and gases rising from a fire and carrying aloft smoke, debris and flame,” according to the U.S. Forest Service.
A fire vortex is created when “highly unstable, superheated, dry air near the ground breaks through the boundary layer and shoots upward in a swirling motion,” according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
The Deer Creek Fire, located southeast of Moab, has burned 11,044 acres, per the National Interagency Fire Center.
Hundreds of fires burn across Canada
After a small lull in Canada’s wildfire season through late June and early July, Canadian wildfires have made a big comeback. According to The Washington Post, more than 350 wildfires are currently burning out of control in the western two-thirds of the country.
Many of the most concerning fires are burning in the province of Manitoba.
This year is one of Manitoba’s worst fire seasons on record. The province currently has four out-of-control fires that are larger than 200,000 acres, with one getting close to a million acres. Manitoba also has dozens of the other blazes burning.
Last week, Manitoba issued its second emergency declaration of the year due to wildfires, per The Washington Post. 13,000 people across the east-central parts of the province have been evacuated.
There have also been major and fast moving fires burning in Saskatchewan and British Columbia.
So far, this year at least 13.8 million acres have burned in Canada, making it the country’s fourth-worst fire season in the modern record, reported The Washington Post. This year has far surpassed 2024’s 5.3 million acres, but 2023 is still Canada’s worst on record after 42.9 million acres were scorched.
Most of the fires burning in Canada this year have been started by lightning, according to The New York Times.
Utah volunteers being sent to support evacuees in Canada
According to a release from the American Red Cross of Utah, the group has sent four trained disaster relief volunteers to Manitoba. They will be there to assist the Canadian Red Cross with sheltering more than 12,500 people who have been displaced by major wildfires.
The volunteers from Utah will join 100 American Red Cross responders from around the U.S. who left on Tuesday for 21-day deployments. They will be providing “critical support to evacuees at emergency shelters.”