Alpowa Fire, Clarkston Heights-Vineland, Washington

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

Location8 miles west of Clarkston, WA

CauseHuman

What's burningTall Grass (2.5 feet)

How it's behavingMinimalCreeping — Moves slowly, hugging the ground.Smoldering — Burning without flame, in the ground or in roots. Can flare up days later.Flanking — Grows along the sides, not head-on.

ComplexityType 3 IncidentOfficial scale from 5 to 1: a Type 1 is the most complex in the country.

JurisdictionPrivate land

Cost so far$511,288

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

Burning across private land in Asotin County, Washington, the human-caused Alpowa Fire near Clarkston Heights-Vineland charred 1,363 acres over seventy-three days before finally ending. Spanning a location 8 miles west of Clarkston, the incident was managed by a Type 3 Incident command with 90 personnel deployed to the scene.

The fire progressed at an approximate average daily growth of 19 acres per day through tall grass measuring 2.5 feet. By the time the incident concluded with full containment and a status of ended, total costs had reached about $511,000, specifically totaling 511,288 USD.

This event unfolded within a regional context where the typical fire season runs from June to October. Across the country, 3,455,585 hectares had burned so far in 2026, marking a figure that is 37 percent below the two-decade average.