Oklahoma Wildfire, Smoke, and Air Quality Map

Fire season and landscape

The core season runs roughly February through April, before spring green-up, with the west and the Panhandle carrying the highest risk. Drought years add a second window in late summer, and eastern red cedar encroachment has made grass fires burn hotter and resist control more than they once did.

The state grades from the Ouachita National Forest's timbered mountains in the southeast through the Cross Timbers to open plains in the west, with the Black Kettle National Grassland and the Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge among the notable public lands. Fast grass fire under frontal winds is the most common major hazard, and wind direction matters more than terrain.

• Oklahoma's largest fire runs happen on red flag days ahead of cold fronts, so the red flag warning and fire weather outlook layers are the most relevant in late winter.
• Spring prescribed burning in the Osage and southern Flint Hills country puts smoke over northeastern Oklahoma that the smoke layer picks up before it reaches Tulsa.
• Grass fires here move faster than perimeter mapping, and the 24-hour hotspot layer usually shows an active fire's edge sooner.