The ongoing “Hawk” fire outside the city of Reno, Nevada, has prompted the evacuation of tens of thousands of people in yet another devastating blaze contributing to one of the worst U.S. wildfire seasons in recent history. 

Roughly 42,000 people have been evacuated around Reno, while an additional 45,000 were warned that they may also have to flee. The evacuation is among the largest prompted by a U.S. wildfire this year, following the fires around Spokane, Washington, in early August during which roughly 60,000 people were evacuated.

The Reno evacuations mark another flashpoint of a record-breaking fire season. The fire is dwarfed in acreage by larger blazes from this year, at roughly 15,000 acres burned so far, but its direct effect on civilians is one of the largest in recent years, and demonstrates the potential risk that worsening wildfires may have on people and their communities in years to come.

Here’s how fires around the U.S. have set new records, and why they have been so bad this year.

More acres burned and more entrapments

Compared to the past 10 years, more acres have been burned this year in the U.S. to date.

The National Interagency Fire Center (NIFC) posted on Monday that firefighters have responded to 50,784 wildfires that have scorched over 7.8 million acres this year: 168% of the 10-year average for acres burned, and 129% of the average for total fires.

Around the same time last year, roughly 4 million acres had been burned, around 50% of the current acreage for 2026 so far, according to NIFC tracking.

The U.S. has also been at the highest level of “fire preparedness” for 38 days, since July 18th, at a five out of five, which means that federal resources are strained and may not be available to address every new fire.

Read More: The U.S. Is Now At Its Worst Level of Wildfire Preparedness. What Does That Mean?

The 10-year average for fire preparedness in August is four. The last time the fire preparedness level was at a five for the entire month of August was in 2021.

Meanwhile the 10-year annual average for days spent at level four and five combined is 48 days, and so far, the U.S. has already spent 57 days within that range, after reaching level four in late June.

There has also been a 20-year high of firefighter entrapments, life-threatening situations in which firefighters’ safety zones and escape routes are compromised. According to a Reuters report, there had been 12 entrapments in 2026 as of Aug. 13, more than the year-total average of nine in the last 20 years. This year’s entrapments also marked the highest year-to-date figure since 2006.

Six out of 13 firefighter deaths have involved entrapments, the report shows. An average of 17 firefighter fatalities occur each year from wildfires.

Hotter, drier, and windier conditions

Wildfire trackers often use the “30-30-30” rule to identify conditions that can lead to extreme wildfires. The rule refers to when the temperature is at least 30 degrees Celsius (86 Fahrenheit), humidity is at 30% or lower, and wind speeds are at 30 kilometers per hour or more (roughly 19 miles per hour). When combined, these hot, dry, and windy conditions can produce extremely large and destructive fires, as they have this year.

Reno has experienced an average daily high temperature of 92.8 degrees Fahrenheit (33.7 Celsius), 27% humidity, and 18 miles per hour (29 kilometers per hour) daily maximum wind speed over the last 10 days, including the week before the “Hawk” fires began on Saturday and the three days since as the blaze continues.

Although the 30-30-30 rule is a metric for local weather conditions’ effect on wildfires, increases have been exhibited this year compared to past years across the U.S. in each of its categories—temperature, dryness, and wind speed.

When it came to temperature, the average in the contiguous U.S. from January through July was the second warmest in 132 years, at 4.2 degrees Celsius (55.5 Fahrenheit), according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

July in particular was the hottest month on record in the U.S., with an average of 76.9 degrees Fahrenheit (24.9 Celsius). Nevada specifically had one of its warmest July’s on record, according to NOAA.

Read More: What Living Through the Hottest July Ever Looked Like Across the U.S.

The U.S. also had its driest January-July since 2012, according to NOAA. And as of Aug. 4, nearly half of the contiguous U.S. was experiencing drought, including across much of the West.

Wind speeds generally fluctuate the most by region, but from January through June of this year, they averaged 0.5% above the 20-year average during 2005-2024, according to an S&P Global analysis.

These hotter, drier, and windier conditions have set the stage for an active wildfire season.

One underlying explanation for increasingly fire-prone conditions is climate change, which has contributed to longer-lasting fire seasons, now lasting for six to eight months in some areas, compared to what used to be roughly four months in past decades.

“Generally we’re having drier summers and higher winds,” Peter Sunderland, professor of fire protection engineering at the University of Maryland, previously told TIME. “We are seeing more and more climate extremes.”