Cottonwood Fire (Oregon)
True color
Fire (SWIR)
Infrared / SWIR (right): sees through smoke.
🟢 green = vegetation
🟤 red/brown = burned
🟠 orange = active fire
Imagery: Sentinel-2 (Copernicus). Drag to compare smoke vs. infrared.
Heat detections: NASA FIRMS (last 48h).
Quick facts
- Location
- 16 Miles SE from Wasco, OR
- Complex
- Hay Creek Complex
- Cause
- Natural
- Complexity
- Type 5 Incident
- Fuel
- Short Grass (1 foot)
- Behavior
- Active
- Jurisdiction
- State land
Burning across state lands near Condon, Oregon, the Cottonwood Fire has maintained an active fire behavior in short grass fuels since its natural ignition on July 23, 2026. The incident, managed by a Type 5 Incident Commander as a Type 5 Incident, has steadily expanded over 36 days of burning, averaging an approximate growth of 435 acres per day.
Located 16 miles southeast of Wasco in Gilliam County, the fire has grown to a total size of 15,658 acres. Despite the steady daily expansion and active fire behavior in the one-foot grass, firefighting efforts have successfully brought the incident to 100 percent containment, with total suppression costs reaching $3,000,999.
The Cottonwood Fire unfolds amid a broader national fire landscape where 3,126,257 hectares have burned so far in 2026, marking a figure 43 percent below the two-decade average. This activity occurs within the region's typical fire season, which runs annually from June to October.
In context
This wildfire has been burning in Oregon for 46 days. So far it has affected roughly 15,658 acres — about 63 km². The perimeter is 100% contained.
In the Northern Hemisphere, wildfire activity usually peaks during the warm, dry months — roughly May through October.
The bigger picture in United States
Across United States, roughly 3,185,593 hectares have burned so far in 2026 — 42% below the two-decade average. Data from Copernicus GWIS.
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