According to the National Interagency Fire Center (NIFC), there are currently about 30,000 firefighters and support personnel battling nearly 100 wildfires in 10 western states. The NIFC also reports that about 7.1 million acres have been burned this year to date, with about 72 percent of them from fires in Alaska earlier this summer. State and local fire crews already working alongside National Guard troops will soon be joined by 200 active-duty soldiers called up to assist, a move not made in more than a decade.
Western Wildfires Have Burned More Than 7 Million Acres This Year
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Read moreFlames from the Rocky Fire approach a house on July 31, 2015, in Lower Lake, California. The fire, now contained, burned nearly 70,000 acres and destroyed 43 residences. #
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Read moreThe Reynolds Creek Wildland Fire burns in Glacier National Park, Montana, on July 21, 2015. Strong winds and warm temperatures slowed efforts to contain the wildfire, forcing campers to evacuate near the eastern entrance and closing part of an iconic roadway popular with tourists, officials said. #
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Read moreA CL-415 SuperScooper firefighting aircraft, newly arrived to the Los Angeles County Fire Department on lease from the government of Quebec, drops water on the Warm Fire after sunset on August 16, 2015, in the Angeles National Forest north of Castaic, California. #
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Read moreA firefighter lights a backfire as the Rocky Fire burns near Clearlake, California, on August 3, 2015. The fire has charred more than 60,000 acres and destroyed at least 24 residences. #
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Read moreThe Gasquet Complex Fire in the Six Rivers National Forest in California began on July 31, 2015, and has consumed an estimated 4,000 acres. The fire was caused by lightning. #
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Read moreA Cal Fire truck is driven away from flames as the Rocky Fire burns near Clearlake, California, on August 2, 2015. #
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Read morePart of the Chelan Butte Fire in Chelan, Washington, on August 14, 2015. Original here. #
CC BY-SA Ben Brooks -
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Read moreA firefighting helicopter refills at the Chelan Butte Fire on August 14, 2015. Original here. #
CC BY-SA Ben Brooks -
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Read moreRetardant is dropped on the Chelan Butte Fire on August 14, 2015. Original here. #
CC BY-SA Ben Brooks -
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Read moreThe ruins of burned houses are seen at the Cabin Fire in the Angeles National Forest on August 15, 2015, north of Azusa, California. #
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Read moreThe sun rises over an area smothered with smoke from the Rocky Fire on July 31, 2015, in Lower Lake, California. #
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Read moreA firefighter monitors the Jerusalem Fire from Morgan Valley Road on August 11, 2015, near Lower Lake, California. #
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Read moreGoats run away from their pen after firefighters freed them as the Rocky Fire approaches on July 31, 2015, in Lower Lake, California. #
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Read moreA Cal Fire firefighter races to move a truck before it’s overrun at the Rocky Fire in Lake County, California, on July 30, 2015. #
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Read moreAir tankers make drops at the North Fire near Phelan, California, on July 17, 2015. #
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Read moreThe AZ-CRA Fire, located in the Mohave Valley, Arizona, began on August 8, 2015, and has consumed an estimated 7,000 acres. #
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Read moreBrush and trees burn in the Rocky Fire off Highway 20 near Clearlake, California, on August 2, 2015. #
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Read moreDiane Beavers drives away from the Moose Lodge in Clearlake Oaks, California, after donating food to evacuees on August 4, 2015. #
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Read moreThe Wolverine Creek Fire, located northwest of Lucerne, Washington, began on June 29, 2015, and has consumed an estimated 25,000 acres. The fire was caused by a lightning strike. #
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Read moreA firefighting helicopter draws from the lower-than-normal waters of the San Gabriel Reservoir while fighting the Cabin Fire in the Angeles National Forest on August 15, 2015, north of Azusa, California. #
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Read moreA charred tree continues to burn after being consumed by the Rocky Fire on August 3, 2015, near Clearlake, California. #
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Read moreA burned structure is shown along U.S. Route 97-Alternate on August 17, 2015, just outside of Chelan, Washington. #
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Read moreAir Operations at the Aggie Creek Fire, located 30 miles northwest of Fairbanks, Alaska. The fire was started by a lightning strike on June 22, 2015. #
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Read moreThe Rocky Fire burns through a fence line in Lake County, California, on July 30, 2015. #
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Read moreA Cal Fire firefighter shoots a flare into dry brush during a burn operation to head off the Rocky Fire on August 2, 2015, near Clearlake, California. #
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Read moreCal Fire firefighter Johnny Miller (left) and Cal Fire division chief Nick Schuler move chickens as the Rocky Fire approaches on July 31, 2015, in Lower Lake, California. #
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Read moreA large plume of smoke rises from the Rocky Fire on August 1, 2015, near Clearlake, California. #
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Read moreA Cal Fire firefighter uses a drip torch to start a backfire as he battles the Rocky Fire on August 3, 2015, near Clearlake, California. #
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Read moreIn this July 17, 2015, photo, the North Fire burns along Baldy Mesa Road near Interstate 15 in the Cajon Pass in San Bernardino County, California. The 5.5-square-mile fire destroyed 20 vehicles on the freeway before burning three homes and 44 more vehicles in the community of Baldy Mesa. #
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Read moreA tree burns along along Morgan Valley Road during the Jerusalem Fire on August 11, 2015, near Lower Lake, California. #
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Read moreA firefighter aircraft drops fire retardant at the Cabin Fire in the Angeles National Forest on August 15, 2015, north of Azusa, California. #
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Read moreA Cal Fire logo on a fire truck is covered with fire retardant along Morgan Valley Road during the Jerusalem Fire on August 11, 2015, near Lower Lake, California. #
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Read moreThe ruins of a burned building smolder at the Warm Springs Rehabilitation Center at the Warm Fire on August 16, 2015, in the Angeles National Forest north of Castaic, California. #
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Read moreInmate firefighters return from setting a fire break along Highway 20 during the Rocky Fire in Lake County, California, on August 4, 2015. #
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Read moreFirefighters watch the Rocky Fire advance in Lake County, California, on July 30, 2015. #
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Read moreA DC-10 firefighting aircraft drops fire retardant on a ridge in front of the Rocky Fire on August 3, 2015, near Clearlake, California. #
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Read moreFlames rise from a fire near Lower Lake, California, on August 13, 2015. Crews battling the wind-stoked blaze took advantage of cooler temperatures Thursday to clear brush and expand containment lines with bulldozers and hand tools. #
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Read moreA Cal Fire firefighter looks on as the Rocky Fire burns through trees on August 2, 2015, near Clearlake, California. #
Justin Sullivan / Getty
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