NIFC- National Preparedness Level 5

The nation's wildfire preparedness was raised to its highest level Thursday as dozens of new fires started in the bone-dry West, including one on the sprawling grounds of the Idaho National Laboratory.

Wind-whipped flames near a residence at Maggie Creek Ranch near Elko, Nevada, on Wednesday.
Credit:AP

National Interagency Coordination Center is reporting that the nation is at National Preparedness Level 5 with over 1,000 new fires being reported.
Since Monday, there have been more than 1,000 new wildfires reported across the West.

National Preparedness Level 5

(On a scale from 1 to 5)

July 19, 2007

The National Interagency Fire Center moved to a Preparedness Level 5 today based on the current and expected fire activity throughout much of the West. This move was prompted by large fire activity occurring in multiple geographic areas and a heavy commitment of crews, aircraft, and equipment to these incidents, along with a forecast for continued hot, dry, windy conditions.

Initial attack was heavy across the nation with 412 new fires yesterday. Currently, Idaho and Nevada have 43 large fires with more than 511,000 acres burned. Strong winds, extremely dry conditions, and thunderstorms are challenging firefighters across the West. Several large fires in Oregon and Montana received rain.

Weather Discussion: Windy conditions will continue as the thunderstorm threat moves northeast. Windy conditions will continue today over parts of southern California, the Great Basin, Northern Rockies and Wyoming. Thunderstorms will develop mainly in Washington, Montana, Wyoming, and the Four Corners states, with the least precipitation on the west and southwest periphery of the storms. Cooler conditions with higher relative humidity will continue to move into the Northwest and Northern California particularly affecting the west side of the Cascades with light showers.

Source: National Interagency Coordination Center

Daily statistics 7/19/07
Number of new large fires	21	States currently reporting large fires:
Number of active large fires	72	Alaska (1) California (4) Idaho (20) Montana (4) Nevada (23) Oregon (13) Texas (1) Utah (5) Virginia (1) Washington (4) Wyoming (1)
Acres from active fires	1,245,950
Number of Wildland Fire Use (WFU) fires	5
Number of Wildland Fire Use (WFU) acres	16,407
Fires contained on 7/18/07	11
Year-to-date large fires contained	525
Year-to-date statistics
2007 (1/1/07 - 7/19/07)	Fires: 53,334	Acres: 3,398,665
2006 (1/1/06 - 7/19/06)	Fires: 65,359	Acres:4,446,396
2005 (1/1/05 - 7/19/05)	Fires: 35,060	Acres: 3,766,004
2004 (1/1/04 - 7/19/04)	Fires: 43,095	Acres: 4,391,202
2003 (1/1/03 - 7/19/03)	Fires: 31,515	Acres: 1,193,227
2002 (1/1/02 - 7/19/02)	Fires: 49,672	Acres: 3,546,965
2001 (1/1/01 - 7/19/01)	Fires: 47,621	Acres: 1,440,435
2000 (1/1/00 - 7/19/00)	Fires: 54,760	Acres: 2,685,659
10-year average
1997- 2007	Fires: 46,985	Acres: 2,760,291

National Preparedness Level 5
California North Ops - PL3 California South Ops - PL3

Northern California Area (PL 3)
New fires: 20
New large fires: 0
Uncontained large fires: 3
Type 1 IMTs committed: 1
Type 2 IMTs committed: 2

Incident Name:
Elk Complex (eight fires), Klamath NF. IMT 1 (Dietrich). Two miles east of Happy Camp, CA. Timber.
Moderate fire behavior. Community of Happy Camp remains threatened. Precipitation occurred over the fire area yesterday.

Fletcher, Modoc NF. IMT 2 (Kaage). Twenty-nine miles north of Alturas, CA. Timber and grass. Moderate fire behavior with isolated torching and smoldering.

China-Back Complex (two fires), Klamath NF. IMT 2 (Walker). Twenty-five miles southwest of Yreka, CA. Timber and hardwood litter. Minimal fire behavior with creeping and smoldering. Structures remain threatened.
Precipitation occurred over fire area yesterday.

Southern California Area (PL 3)
New fires: 20
New large fires: 0
Uncontained large fires: 1
NIMOs committed: 1
Incident Name:
Zaca, Los Padres NF. NIMO (Gelobter). Fifteen miles northeast of Buellton, CA. Chaparral and oak woodlands. Rapid rates of spread with short range spotting. Residences remain threatened. Evacuations remain in effect.