2026 United States wildfires facts for kids

Quick facts for kids 2026 United States wildfires
Activity on the Cottonwood Fire on March 13
Statistics
Total fires	35,247
Total area	2,349,604 acres (950,851 ha)
Season
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This page is all about the big wildfires that have happened in the United States during 2026. We'll look at fires that burned a lot of land (more than 1,000 acres), caused a lot of damage, or were important for other reasons. The information about how much land burned and how much of the fire is controlled might change.

Understanding Wildfires in 2026

Why Wildfires Happen

Wildfires can happen at any time, but they are most common from May to November. The busiest time for fires is usually August. This is when temperatures are highest and the land is driest. Fires are happening more often outside of these usual times. This is because of climate change and changing weather patterns.

Warmer temperatures mean snow melts earlier in the year. Also, dry weather and droughts are happening more often. Tiny bugs like bark beetles can harm trees. Invasive plants like cheatgrass also make forests more likely to burn. Areas with lots of trees and dry plants give fires plenty of fuel to spread.

What Experts Predicted

In January 2026, a group called the National Interagency Fire Center (NIFC) shared their fire predictions. They thought there would be a higher risk of wildfires. This was for much of Texas, Florida, Georgia, and the Carolinas. This higher risk was linked to a weather pattern called La Niña. La Niña often brings less rain and warmer weather to these regions. Experts looked at expected temperatures, rainfall, soil moisture, and how dry plants were. This helped them predict fire activity for the season.

How Dry Was the Country?

Animation of US drought map 2026

At the start of 2026, a lot of the United States was very dry. About 69% of the country was in drought conditions in January. The southern states were hit the hardest by this dryness. Good news came on January 6. For the first time since 2000, California was free of drought. The drought conditions also improved across the South during March.

Fighting Fires in 2026

Firefighting efforts in 2026 needed a huge amount of people and equipment. Special teams, ground crews, and planes were used a lot. They worked to manage many large and difficult fires. However, some ways to prevent fires were hard to use. These included controlled burns (setting small, safe fires on purpose) and clearing out dry plants. This was because of the dry weather and limited safe conditions.

Important Wildfires of 2026