Medford fires today: fire map, smoke & air quality
Active wildfires within 100 miles of Medford, the air quality and wind right now, fire-weather alerts — and how often fires burn near Medford.
Air quality and wind in Medford
Fire weather alerts for Medford
Wildfire history near Medford
Wildfires within 50 miles, by year
Fires of 10+ acres whose origin was within 50 miles of Medford. 2026 is still in progress.
When fires start near Medford
Peak months: April, May, November — 64% of fires in the last 10 years started in these three months.
1 day in the last 12 months had modeled daily PM2.5 above 35.4 µg/m³ — the level where air becomes unhealthy for sensitive groups. The worst day was July 18, 2026 at 36.9 µg/m³. Smoke can come from fires hundreds of miles away, so smoke days and nearby fires don't always line up.
Fire history: NIFC WFIGS incident records 2016–2026. Smoke: Open-Meteo CAMS air-quality model, 2025-10-01 to 2026-09-30. Updated 2026-10-01.
Largest wildfires near Medford since 2015
| Fire | Acres | Year | County | From Medford |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thomas Road | 494 | 2024 | Essex, MA | 16 mi |
| Mount Gilead | 440 | 2024 | Essex, MA | 8 mi |
| Delta Range | 350 | 2022 | Worcester, MA | 28 mi |
| Zulu Range Fire | 344 | 2015 | Worcester, MA | 28 mi |
| Middleton Pond | 243 | 2024 | Essex, MA | 13 mi |
| Fd0800041 | 215 | 2023 | Worcester, MA | 28 mi |
Most recent fires near Medford
| Fire | Acres | Discovered | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rattlesnake 26 | 14 | 2026-06-29 | 13 mi |
| Cutler Park | 14 | 2026-05-29 | 11 mi |
| Hauk Swamp | 13 | 2026-05-29 | 28 mi |
| Mount Moriah 2 | 23 | 2026-04-23 | 7 mi |
| Saw | 95 | 2026-04-21 | 28 mi |
Distances are straight-line from the city center to the fire's point of origin.
Fires and smoke near other cities
Questions
Is there a fire near Medford right now?
The live map at the top of this page shows every active wildfire within 100 miles of Medford from official incident reports, sorted by distance, with acres, containment and the last update time.
How often do wildfires burn near Medford?
From 2016 to 2025, 71 wildfires of 10 acres or more started within 50 miles of Medford — about 7 a year — burning 4,753 acres in total. 64% of them started in April, May and November.
What was the biggest fire near Medford?
The Thomas Road Fire (2024), 494 acres, which started about 16 miles from Medford in Essex County.
Is the air quality in Medford safe today?
The air-quality panel above shows the current US AQI for Medford and a 72-hour forecast. Above 100 (orange), sensitive groups should limit time outdoors; above 150 (red), everyone should. In the last 12 months Medford had 1 modeled smoke days.
Get fire alerts for Medford
Save Medford in Wildfire Tracker: distance to the nearest active fire, which side of it you're on relative to the wind, air quality — alerts only for fires that are actually active.