Cottonwood Fire, Condon, Oregon

True view Fire view

⟷

True view (left): as the eye sees it.
Fire view (right): infrared (SWIR), sees through smoke and brings out the heat.

🟢 green = vegetation
🟤 brown = already burned
🟠 orange = fire right now

Drag to compare: normal photo on the left, heat brought out on the right.

Green: vegetationBrown: already burnedOrange: fire right nowSentinel-2 · Copernicus

Key facts

Source: NIFC

Location16 miles southeast of Wasco, OR

ComplexHay Creek Complex

CauseNatural

What's burningShort Grass (1 foot)

How it's behavingActive

ComplexityType 5 IncidentOfficial scale from 5 to 1: a Type 1 is the most complex in the country.

JurisdictionState land

Cost so far$3.0 million

Glossary: what each term means

Minimal

Barely moving. Low, thin smoke.

Smoldering

Burning without flame, in the ground or in roots. Can flare up days later.

Creeping

Moves slowly, hugging the ground.

Moderate

Spreads with low, steady flames.

Active

Spreading evenly and steadily, with visible flame.

Extreme

Fast and unpredictable.

Running

Runs along the ground much faster than a person walks.

Flanking

Grows along the sides, not head-on.

Backing

Moves against the wind or downhill, which makes it slower.

Crowning

Climbs into the treetops and jumps crown to crown. It can't be attacked from the ground.

Short Crown Runs

Climbs into the crowns in bursts and drops back down.

Torching

Whole trees flaring up like torches.

Isolated Torching

Single scattered trees flaring up whole, like torches.

Group Torching

Whole clumps of trees flaring at once.

Spotting

Wind carries embers through the air and starts new fires ahead of the front: that is how a fire jumps a road or a firebreak.

Wind Driven Runs

The wind pushes it in long runs in one direction.

The ones marked ● are the behaviors that make a fire harder to stop. They are not a warning or an instruction: they are the description written by the agency in charge. For decisions, always follow your emergency services.

The story so far

Summary written on Aug 28, while the fire was still active. It has since ended — the figures above are current.

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.