In record US wildfire season, firefighter entrapments hit 20-year high

Washington state Department of Natural Resources South Puget Sound region firefighter Kayla Tolbert assists in wildfire suppression efforts in Spokane County, Washington, U.S., August 5, 2026. REUTERS/Matt Mills McKnight

• Summary

• Federal data shows 12 entrapments in 2026, highest year-to-date count since 2006
• Six of 13 firefighting deaths this year involve entrapments, data from federal center shows
• National Interagency Fire Center reports 6.4 million acres burned nationwide so far

Aug 13 (Reuters) - U.S. firefighting personnel are being overrun by wildfires at the highest rate in two decades, leading to six deaths and dozens of injuries this year, federal data showed, a grim count during a record-setting ​fire season in the United States.

There have been 12 entrapments so far in 2026, according to the Wildland Fire Lessons Learned Center, a federal agency, already more than the full-year average ‌of nine in the last 20 years, and the highest year-to-date number since 2006.

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