October is usually when rain or snow starts to drown out wildfires. But this year is especially hot, dry and windy.
It’s only the second October since 1990 that the national wildfire preparedness level has been at “Level 5” (the other year was 2020). Level 5 is the highest stage which means there aren’t many firefighters or resources to spare across the country.
Right now, crews are working on major fires burning near communities in Wyoming, Idaho, Utah, Oregon and North Dakota.
But more than a thousand firefighters and support staff for state and federal forests in the Southeast have pivoted to helping with the response to Hurricane Helene and preparation for Hurricane Milton.
“We have a lot of things that are going on,” said Brian Reublinger with the National Interagency Fire Center.
Some of the emergency response work after hurricanes can look similar to wildfires, he said.
“You have crews that, with wildfires, help with constructing line or using chainsaws to cut down trees. And the same thing you can do in hurricane relief,” he said. “Trees fall down and block roads, and so you need people to go in there with chainsaws and cut down the trees and clear the roads.”
Weather forecasts suggest wildfire activity will likely continue in much of the country through at least mid-October.
This story was produced by the Mountain West News Bureau, a collaboration between Wyoming Public Media, Nevada Public Radio, Boise State Public Radio in Idaho, KUNR in Nevada, KUNC in Colorado and KANW in New Mexico, with support from affiliate stations across the region. Funding for the Mountain West News Bureau is provided in part by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
