The main graphic, provided by the National Wildfire Coordinating Group (NWCG), shows peak fire seasons for different regions throughout the United States

TL;DR: Wildfire season in the U.S. varies by region, but climate change is making fire seasons longer, more intense, and less predictable nationwide. Once seen as a West Coast issue, wildfires now pose growing threats to air quality, health, and infrastructure across the country. From Alaska to Florida, and Texas to the Midwest, shifting weather patterns and human development are increasing fire risk. Monitoring air quality and taking preventive measures can help protect communities as wildfires become an increasingly widespread concern.

Wildfire season is the time of year when the weather is hot and dry, and wildfires are typically more common. This often overlaps with the summer months, with August being the peak month for wildfires. However, wildfire season can change from year to year and varies by region. 

While wildfires are a healthy and natural part of the ecosystem, larger wildfires can pose a significant threat to wildlife, public health, and infrastructure. With fire suppression and global warming, the risk of severe wildfires is growing. 

NASA graph of United States burned area by year, showing wildfires growing in intensity over the past half century.
This graph, provided by NASA, demonstrates how wildfires have been growing in intensity over the last half century.

Extreme wildfires are often seen as a West Coast phenomenon, with California standing out as a particularly notorious example. However, climate change is expanding the threat. As the climate warms, not only is the West experiencing more destructive fires, but areas across the United States are also facing increasingly severe wildfires and longer, more dangerous fire seasons.

In short, wildfires are no longer just a West Coast issue. 

FEMA map of wildfire risk across the United States.
This FEMA graph shows the wildfire risk differences across the United States. 

Wildfire season means something different in every part of the country. Here is when each region typically peaks, what drives it, and what that has looked like recently.

Region Typical peak fire season What drives it Recent example
Pacific NorthwestJune to OctoberSummer drought, cured fuels, and lightning with dry frontal passagesBig Grass Fire, Oregon, and Sinlahekin Fire, Washington, 2026
CaliforniaMay to October, with wind-driven fires possible year roundLong dry season, autumn offshore winds, and an expanding wildland-urban interfacePalisades and Eaton fires, January 2025
SouthwestMay to mid-July, ending with the monsoonA windy, dry spring turning hot and dry before summer rains arriveDragon Bravo Fire, Arizona, 2025, the largest US fire of that season at 145,504 acres
Great BasinJune to SeptemberInvasive annual grasses, high summer temperatures, and dry lightningNevada, Utah, and southern Idaho see most of their activity in this window
Northern Rockies and Great PlainsMountains peak in summer, plains in spring and again in fallWarm, dry summers in the mountains, and windy periods over dormant or cured grass on the plainsMontana and Idaho were among the most active states in 2026
Southern Great PlainsLate winter through spring, before green-upCured grass, strong winds, and low humidity, which drive very fast rates of spreadSouthwest Kansas outbreak, May 2026, more than 100,000 acres
TexasYear round, peaking February through April and again August through OctoberTwo dry windows either side of summer, plus rapid wildland-urban interface growth3.2 million wildland-urban interface homes statewide as of 2020
SoutheastMarch to May, with a second peak October to NovemberSpring dry season and hurricane debris, offset by the highest rate of prescribed burning in the countryFlorida recorded 2,913 fires and 228,183 acres in 2025
Midwest and upper Great LakesBimodal, spring and again in fallThe snowmelt-to-green-up gap in spring, and cured vegetation after the first frostMore than 20 fires across several states during the May 2025 heat and drought
Northeast and Mid-AtlanticMarch to May, with a second peak October to NovemberLeaf-off periods and intermittent drought, against a long-term trend of rising precipitationEastern states saw burned acreage 159% above their 10-year average in 2025
AlaskaMay to AugustHot, dry, windy interior conditions and warming at more than twice the national rateAlaska led the nation with about 1,006,000 acres burned in 2025
HawaiiYear round, peaking from mid-November for roughly six monthsInvasive grasses on former agricultural land, with over 98% of fires human-causedLahaina fire, Maui, August 2023

Peak season windows follow the National Wildfire Coordinating Group fire season climatology (PMS 437). Season totals are from the National Interagency Fire Center.

West Coast and Pacific Northwest wildfire seasons

The West Coast fire season generally runs from June through October, though wind-driven fires in southern California can happen at any point in the year, as the January 2025 Palisades and Eaton fires showed. Further north, the season concentrates in July through September, when summer drought has cured fuels and lightning outbreaks provide the ignitions.

2026 has been a Northwest year. The Big Grass Fire in Malheur County, Oregon, burned more than 578,000 acres, the largest single fire nationally this season, and the Sinlahekin Fire west of Tonasket, Washington, burned over 152,000 acres. Nationally, 2026 has already passed the whole of 2025 by acreage.

Southern and Southeastern wildfire seasons 

In 2024, the Northwestern United States saw the most acres burned, but the Southern region, interestingly, experienced the highest number of wildfires. Some states in the South use controlled burning practices, which can help reduce wildfire severity. 

Some parts of the central Southern United States have very long fire seasons. Texas, for example, has a wildfire season that spans the entire year, with peaks in the winter, from February through April, and in the summer, from August through October.

The southern plains show how fast a grass-driven season can move. In May 2026, an outbreak in southwest Kansas burned more than 100,000 acres in a matter of days, driven by cured grass, strong winds, and low humidity rather than by forest fuels.

This area has recently seen extensive wildland-urban interface (WUI) growth, which can lead to more destructive fires affecting buildings and communities as well as wildlife. In the 2010s, Texas added 534,000 total WUI houses, and by 2020, the state hosted 3.2 million in total. 

Building burning in a wildland-urban interface fire, which releases more toxic smoke than a vegetation fire.
All wildfires release harmful smoke, which degrades air quality and harms public health. However, fires in the wildland-urban interface burn man-made structures and chemicals, releasing even more harmful and toxic air pollutants. This image is provided by Venti Views via Unsplash. 

The Southeastern wildfire season

The Southeast fire season mainly coincides with Spring. Florida, for instance, sees the most wildfires from March through May. The region also experiences frequent wildfires in the fall, from October through November. The Eastern Temperate forests in this area have seen a rise in wildfire frequency and area burned, which aligns with the trend toward a warmer, drier climate. 

Chart of wildfire number, average size, and hectares burned in the Eastern Temperate Forest region of the United States, 1984 to 2020.
This graphic shows the number of wildfires, their average size, and the total hectares burned in the Eastern Temperate Forest region of the United States between 1984 and 2020. The darker colors towards the Southern part of that region indicate higher fire activity. 

By mid-century, wildfires ignited by lightning are projected to increase by 34% in the Southeast, but human activity remains a major cause of wildfires. Fire activity in this region swings sharply with winter and spring rainfall. A dry spring in 2025 left Florida with roughly twice as many fires by April as it had seen at the same point the year before. The pattern is not confined to the Southeast either: Nebraska came into 2026 off one of its warmest and driest winters on record, which pushed fire danger up well before the usual spring window.

2026 brought the Southeast an unusually early and destructive season. Fires began breaking out across Florida and southern Georgia in mid-February under red flag conditions, months before the usual spring peak, after drought spread across almost the whole of Florida. Florida saw 20 fires larger than 1,000 acres burn more than 90,000 acres between them, led by the National Fire in Collier County at roughly 35,000 acres. Across the state line, Georgia's Pineland Road Fire burned 32,331 acres in Clinch and Echols counties and the Highway 82 Fire burned another 22,615 acres, together destroying more than 120 homes.

Midwestern wildfire season

In the upper Midwest, wildfire season typically peaks in spring. The mountainous areas differ from the plains, seeing the most fire from June through September. Some states, such as Wisconsin and Minnesota, experience a “bimodal fire season” in which fires often ignite in the Spring and then again in the fall, with a lull over the Summer months. However, some recent years have seen one long fire season that stretches through the summer months without much of a break. 

Rural Wisconsin landscape, where most wildfires occur in spring.
Most of Wisconsin’s wildfires occur in the spring. This image of Wisconsin’s beautiful scenery was provided by Dave Hoefler via Unsplash. 

Although the Midwest frequently experiences wildfires, until recently, its wildfire season was largely overlooked. Fires in this region are growing more intense due to climate change. In May 2025, the Midwest experienced unseasonably high temperatures and dry conditions, which fueled over 20 wildfires in several states. 

Hawaiian and Alaskan wildfire seasons 

Hawaii’s wildfire season

Hawaii’s wildfire season is generally considered to be year-round. However, Hawaii’s peak fire season begins mid-November and continues for about six months. Each year, roughly 0.5% of Hawaii’s total land area is burned, with over 98% of wildfires caused by humans. 

Hawaii sees its fair share of devastating wildfires. The Lahaina fire on Maui in August 2023 killed at least 100 people and wreaked unprecedented destruction on the area. The frequency of wildfires has been rising in this state since the 1990s. 

Aerial view of Maui, Hawaii, where wildfires are a year-round threat.
Wildfires threaten Hawaii year-round, requiring extra precautions. This image of Maui is provided by Benjamin R. via Unsplash. 

Alaska’s wildfire season

Alaska’s fire season occurs from May through August when the weather is often hot, dry, and windy. The majority of fire activity occurs in the interior of the state between the Alaska and Brooks ranges. 

Over the past 60 years, the average temperature across the state has increased by more than twice the rate of the rest of the United States. Subsequently, wildfires have been increasing in intensity and growing less predictable as global warming alters the state’s weather patterns. In 2022, Southwest Alaska, where wildfires are usually rare, saw over a million acres burned. 

Alaska’s wildfires are a large source of black carbon in the Arctic and subarctic. This air pollutant is especially harmful in these regions, where it can reduce the albedo of snow and ice, limiting their ability to reflect solar radiation and accelerating global warming. 

Clarity Black Carbon Module, which attaches to the Node-S sensor to measure soot from wildfire smoke.
Black carbon, also known as soot, is an air pollutant that comes from wildfires and harms human health. Clarity Movement’s Black Carbon Module measures this air pollutant and attaches seamlessly to our flagship Node-S air quality Monitor, which detects particulate matter and nitrogen dioxide. 

The East Coast wildfire season

East Coast wildfire season occurs during March, April, and May. This area also experiences elevated wildfire activity from October through November. Occasionally, fire season can stretch into summer under certain wind conditions. 

Interestingly, while wildfires are increasing in other areas of the United States, this region is more complicated. Despite experiencing some intermittent droughts, the area has seen increased precipitation over the last fifty years, contrasting with the drier climates elsewhere. 

Forest and water in Vermont, where wildfires occur mostly in spring.
Vermont mostly experiences wildfires in the Spring, but occasionally dry years will bring fires in the summer or fall. Image of Vermont’s trees provided by Peter James Eisenhaure via Unsplash. 

This is not a coincidence, but rather connected to the drought and increased fire risk in the West. Climate change has led to the warming of the western Pacific Ocean, which in turn disrupts climate patterns and creates what is known as a weather regime. This climate disruption leads to more extreme weather on each coast of the United States, allowing East Coast winter storms to coexist with West Coast droughts. 

The East Coast is not immune to wildfires, however. With past fire suppression and expanded WUI interface, wildfires will still be an issue even as precipitation increases. 

Looking Forward

The best way to prevent devastating wildfires is to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and mitigate global warming. However, there are measures that communities, governments, and individuals can take to protect infrastructure and public health. 

Clarity offers air quality monitors and modules that detect several harmful components of wildfire smoke, including particulate matter, carbon monoxide, and black carbon, to better protect communities from this increasingly present air quality threat.