Wildfires Race Across US as Drought Spans Half the Nation

An unusually hot, snowless winter has fueled a fast start to the spring fire season across large swaths of the western, central and southeastern US, disrupting businesses and upending daily life.

Nearly 19,000 have ignited nationwide since Jan. 1, about 6,900 more than normal compared to the past decade. In recent weeks, flames have scorched nearly 1 million acres of cattle grazing land and prairie in the Great Plains and dampened tourism in parts of the Everglades, where air boat operators have struggled to navigate dried-out swamps. Air tankers, frequently deployed over the West, are already in high demand, weeks ahead of schedule.

Heat combined with a dry La Niña winter has helped drive a sprawling drought across the Southeast and central US. It now spans half the country and roughly 90% of the southern US, leaving ample stores of tinder-dry grass and brush to feed any stray spark.

By April 1, more than 1.6 million acres had burned across the US, an area larger than Grand Canyon National Park and more than double the seasonal average. The toll is stretching firefighting resources and accelerating demand for aircraft.

“We’re well ahead of where we should be this early in the season,” said Brett L’Esperance, chief executive officer of Dauntless Air, which operates a fleet of water-scooping air tankers. “This pace is unlikely to slow down, at least for now.”

The early surge underscores how wildfire risk is intensifying as climate change and prolonged drought lengthen fire seasons. The fallout has been costly: Utilities can be held liable when power equipment ignites blazes, and insurers have pulled back from high-risk areas after years of mounting losses. Recent disasters in California and Hawaii have destroyed thousands of homes, killed dozens and saddled companies including PG&E Corp. and Hawaiian Electric Industries Inc. with billions in liabilities.

While many recent fires are still under investigation, they are often linked to causes such as lightning strikes, downed power lines, discarded cigarettes and loose chains attached to trucks used for rounding up cattle. In areas hit by sudden blasts of Arctic cold in late January and February, which quickly killed off shrubs and grasses, the landscape is especially primed for wildfire risks.

In recent weeks, wind-fueled fires have ripped through parched pastures at small farms and ranches in Kansas, Oklahoma and Nebraska, with at least five deaths attributed to the outbreaks. In some Great Plains communities, neighbors have donated bundles of feed hay, while cattlemen’s associations have activated mutual aid programs to support ranchers whose businesses took a hit.

Nearly 1 million acres burned in Nebraska alone, largely from a single fast-moving blaze in mid-March. The Morrill fire, the state’s largest on record, was “unusually aggressive,” said Jim Wallmann, a meteorologist with the US National Interagency Fire Center. “We typically don’t have those really big fires that far north, that early.”

Late-winter fires are more common in the Southeast, which tends to dry out over during the colder months. Much of its rain arrives in summer and fall, especially throughout hurricane season. But 2025 passed without a land-falling storm, leaving parts of the region severely short of moisture.

The edge of Florida’s Everglades ecosystem erupted in flames in late February, forcing interstate closures as wind carried thick smoke across roadways. The scent of smoke and charred grass spread more than 20 miles away, reaching the Naples headquarters of Corey Billie’s Airboat Rides, which has been shut down since Feb. 14, according to manager Nina Daniels.

The company operates flat-bottomed air boats powered by large rear-mounted fans. The Everglades have grown so dry “the boats just won’t go anymore,” said Daniels, a fifth-generation resident of Collier County in southwest Florida and one of two staff member still working as of early April. “They don’t float. When we got customers out there stuck three times in a day, we closed.”

Reducing fire risk will require sustained rainfall, particularly in Florida, where dead trees toppled by Hurricane Helene in 2024 have added to dry fuel. Vegetation must absorb enough moisture for grasses and leaves to regrow in a process known as “green-up.”

Some forecasts predict wetter-than-normal conditions across the eastern US later this month, which could ease fire risk. But the rainfall deficit remains severe in many areas.

“The longer the drought extends into spring, the longer that fire danger is going to last,” said Oklahoma State Climatologist Gary McManus. “That’s what we’re worried about.”