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It’s not just the West: Wildfire season is spreading across the country

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by Lyndon Haviland, opinion contributor - 05/12/26 11:30 AM ET

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by Lyndon Haviland, opinion contributor - 05/12/26 11:30 AM ET

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Smoke lingers in the air near at sign for I-95 near the Brantley Highway 82 Fire on April 24, 2026 in Atkinson, Georgia. The wildfire is one of many burning in the southeastern United States. (Photo by Sean Rayford/Getty Images)

Spring drought levels are at record highs across the country, and experts worry that the destruction from this year’s wildfire season could be some of the worst our nation has ever seen.

The country is a tinder box — and if predictions are correct, as many as 8 million acres are at risk. Will lawmakers take action to protect the safety of our forests, our homes and the American people? We’ll soon know.

Wildfires are no longer isolated events confined to Western states. Just last month, blazes in Georgia destroyed more than 50 houses and forced hundreds of people to evacuate their neighborhoods. Fires have also ravaged the Carolinas, and state officials in Florida say fire conditions there are among the worst they’ve seen in as many as 40 years.

These states aren’t historically associated with wildfire risk. But the Southeast has shown that it, too, is now susceptible to the widespread devastation these natural disasters can inflict.

We know the reason why this is happening. Climate change has caused hotter temperatures and drier landscapes — factors, scientists say, that fueled the catastrophic Los Angeles wildfires last year. Protracted stretches of drought and fierce heat waves are increasing, presenting ideal conditions for intense wildfire activity across the country.

The physical, emotional and economic impacts from these events are enormous. They can end human lives, claim beloved pets, destroy people’s livelihoods, annihilate homes and devastate communities.

But the long-term damage wildfires wreak on public health can extend far beyond a fire’s burn zone. Wildfire smoke often travels thousands of miles, affecting the health of those who live nowhere near the fire’s front line. Millions of people up and down the East Coast experienced this in 2023 when smoke from fires in Canada turned America’s skies orange and polluted the air for days on end.

The health consequences of those fires were significant. Patient visits to U.S. emergency rooms seeking treatment for asthma spiked 17 percent during that time. In the U.S. alone, more than 30,000 people died. Globally, the number exceeded 80,000.

Wildfire smoke is especially harmful. It’s a toxic mix of fine particulate matter that can cause difficulty breathing, pulmonary inflammation and lung function reduction. Ozone concentrations that result from wildfires also increase the potential for cardiovascular problems and premature mortality.

When the air quality index reaches dangerous levels due to wildfire smoke, the resulting pollution “is similar to smoking a quarter to half a pack a day,” warns UCLA pulmonologist May-Lin Wilgus.

Instead of leading on this issue, the U.S. government has run from the problem. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency — our nation’s lead enforcer of air quality and safety standards — has let go thousands of employees, stripping itself of important resources and personnel needed to address wildfires and other natural disasters.

Making matters worse, the EPA earlier this year reduced its regulatory mandate to enforce Clean Air Act standards designed to protect America’s health — and the agency is now looking to cut its annual budget in half.

We need more from the EPA to confront the climate-driven causes of wildfires, not less. And if that isn’t likely to happen any time soon, Congress must do its part to keep America safe.

Lawmakers are currently considering two starkly different approaches that will have a major influence on the way the country manages wildfire risk going forward.

One is the Fire Improvement and Reforming Exceptional Events Act, otherwise known as the FIRE Act. It seeks to further deregulate the Clean Air Act by changing the definition of wildfires as “exceptional events,” instead of treating them as systemic threats to public health that require the engagement of proactive environmental measures and comprehensive monitoring.

The Fix Our Forests Act, on the other hand, prioritizes balanced environmental responsibility. The bipartisan bill seeks to improve reforestation, maintain healthy forests and make investments to help reduce the wildfire threat. It also aims to localize forest management directives, empowering those closest to potential fire zones to make decision