National Preparedness Level: 1 (On a scale from 1 to 5)
Northern California PL: 1
Southern California PL: 1
Smaller, local incidents are listed in the Happening Now section.
Current National Situation:
December 23, 2022 – Initial attack was light with 79 new fires reported. 16 new large fire reported and 0 large fires contained.
This report will be posted every Friday unless significant activity occurs.
This week | Year to date | 10-yr average |
Fires: 79 Acres: 864 | Fires: 65,818 Acres: 7,472,995 | Fires: 58,671 Acres: 7,270,558 (2012 – 2021 as of today) |
Regional fires
Incident Name | State | Lead Agency | Size (acres) | Percent Contained | Estimate of Containment | Personnel | Structures Destroyed |
Mosquito, Oxbow Reservoir | CA | TNF | 76,788 | 100% | October 22, 2022 | 761 | 78 |
California fires
Out of state fires
Map information provided courtesy of the UDSA Remote Sensing Application Center using data provided by the National Interagency Fire Center. The data is subject to change.
Weather Outlook
An Arctic outbreak will continue over the Plains into the eastern US this weekend with temperatures 30 degrees or more below normal. The coldest temperatures with dangerous wind chills will occur over the northern Plains into the Midwest and Great Lakes. The strong winter storm will exit the Great Lakes today with heavy snow winding down, but lake effect snow will continue through the weekend. Heavy rain is also expected today across eastern New England. After this storm moves through, dry conditions overall are forecast from the Plains to the East Coast through mid-next week, with the cold temperatures moderating next week. Showers and thunderstorms are likely to return to portions of the southern Plains and Lower Mississippi Valley late next week.
An active weather pattern will continue in the Pacific Northwest into the northern Rockies the next week. Heavy mixed precipitation is forecast in the lower elevations of the Northwest today with heavy snow in the mountains. Snow levels will rise this weekend with periods of moderate to heavy rain in the valleys of the Northwest and northern Rockies and heavy snow in the mountains. Much of California, the central and southern Great Basin will remain dry into early next week before the storm track shifts southward. Valley rain with high elevation snow will spread across much of California, the Great Basin, and greater Four Corners area mid to late next week. Lighter precipitation is forecast for the Southwest late next week, with portions of southeast California, southern Arizona, and southern New Mexico likely remaining dry.