Atoka Lake Fire, Oklahoma (2026)

This fire in numbersDay 2

291Hectares720Acres2Days burning

Containment25%

Started on Sep 14, 2026. 75% of the perimeter still to contain.

United States todayLive

108Active691Hotspots 48h1.4 MHectares

Last 7 days · steady

All United States wildfires

Atoka Lake Fire (Oklahoma) — NASA satellite

Yesterday's image: fire shows in orange and red. NASA MODIS

Red dots: heat detected by satellite in the last 48h. NASA FIRMS

Active fires nearby1 · 100 km

69KM ETram Trail Fire650 acres · 10% contained

Within 100 kmSee on map →

Quick facts

Location: 2 miles northeast of Atoka, OK
Cause: Human
People working on it: 7 people
Complexity: Type 4 IncidentOfficial scale from 5 to 1: a Type 1 is the most complex in the country.
What's burning: Hardwood Litter
How it's behaving: ExtremeTorching — Whole trees flaring up like torches.
Jurisdiction: Private land

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.

Burning near Atoka, Oklahoma, the active Atoka Lake Fire has scorched 720 acres of hardwood litter on private land since it started on September 14, 2026. Sparked by human activity, the blaze is exhibiting extreme behavior with torching. Seven personnel operating under a Type 4 incident and Type 3 Incident Command have established 25 percent containment on the incident, which has accumulated 65,294 dollars in costs.

Satellites are picking up seven heat signatures clustered nearby over the last 48 hours, illustrating the current spread of the fire front. This incident unfolds during the typical regional fire season spanning from June to October. Nationally, the broader context shows 3,226,886 hectares burned so far in 2026, tracking 41 percent below the two-decade average.

In context

This wildfire has been burning in Oklahoma for 1 day. So far it has affected roughly 720 acres — about 2.9 km². Crews have contained 25% of the perimeter, but most of the fire line is still open.

In the Northern Hemisphere, wildfire activity usually peaks during the warm, dry months — roughly May through October.