The Largest Wildfires Burning In The US Today

In a typical year, wildfires in the US burn seven to eight million acres, with the annual number of fires totaling about 80,000. This year is well ahead of pace. So far, the wildfire count stands at 45,184, according to the National Interagency Fire Center — a record. Usually, there have been only about 35,000 wildfires by this point on the calendar. A total of 5,465,682 acres have burned so far this year, compared with a ten-year average of 3,824,685 acres for the same period.

As of today, based on NIFC WFIGS data, roughly 353 active wildfires are burning across 27 states, covering 3,044,543 acres. Montana has the most active fires at 43, followed by Oregon (49) and New Mexico (38).

A very large wildfire in the US burns 500,000 acres, though outside populated areas these numbers can go much higher. Today, a wildfire near the Unorganized Thunder Bay District in Ontario has burned 759,282 acres and remains uncontained. Canada has no plan to fight this fire, along with a number of others burning in the far north of the country. Smoke from many of these fires has traveled more than 1,500 miles to reach the East Coast of the US, pushing smoke levels in New York to nearly unheard-of levels. According to NBC, New York City’s air quality reached its worst point in three years on July 16, as smoke from Canadian wildfires peaked over the tri-state area. Smoke from the Oregon fires has also begun spreading east.

There’s an important misconception about wildfires: that a single fire is responsible for all reported damage. In reality, multiple fires burning at the same time in the same area can create a staggering cumulative problem. Seven large wildfires, for example, destroyed extensive areas around Los Angeles in January 2025. Taken together, according to World Vision, “more than 17,000 homes, businesses, and other buildings were damaged or destroyed.”

This same “multiple-wildfire” challenge has driven the destruction near Spokane over the past several days. KATU reports that the five largest fires in Oregon have burned roughly 1.2 million acres combined so far. Between Oregon and Washington, there are currently almost 70 active fires.

The Oregon fires have continued to worsen. KOIN reports that dozens of large fires in the state have destroyed nearly 2 million acres in 2026, surpassing the previous record of 1.93 million acres set during the 2024 season.

There has been debate over whether global warming has made wildfires worse. Supporters of the argument point to the compounding effects of drought and high temperatures. Yale 360 Connections reported that warming made this year’s devastating LA wildfires roughly twice as likely to occur and far larger in scale.

Based on August 5 NIFC data, here are the largest active US wildfires by acreage:

Rank	Fire	Location	Acres	Containment
1	Big Grass Fire	Malheur County, OR	346,678	35%
2	Crosswhite Fire	Wheeler County, OR	307,661	51%
3	Coleman Creek Fire	Harney County, OR	278,128	32%
4	Tartar Fire	Washington County, ID	138,271	41%
5	Kaiser Canyon Fire	Okanogan County, WA	136,713	48%
6	Sinlahekin Fire	Okanogan County, WA	117,078	9%
7	Babylon Fire	San Juan County, UT	107,189	95%
8	Second Flat Fire	Harney County, OR	105,464	55%
9	Aspen Acres Fire	Custer County, CO	101,961	71%