Autumn Lane Fire, Suncrest, 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

Location7 miles northwest of Spokane, WA

CauseHuman

What's burningTimber (Litter and Understory)

How it's behavingMinimalSmoldering — Burning without flame, in the ground or in roots. Can flare up days later.

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

JurisdictionPrivate land

Cost so far$13.1 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

Spanning an estimated 5,764 acres over an exhaustive 82-day run, the Autumn Lane Fire near Suncrest, Washington, has officially ended after burning in timber litter and understory across private lands. Driven by human activity and managed under Type 1 Incident complexity with a peak response of 43 personnel, the fire progressed at an approximate average daily growth of 70 acres per day following its start on August 1, 2026. The extended campaign eventually concluded with full containment, transitioning the final behavior to minimal and smoldering before crews fully extinguished the incident.

Financial expenditures for the prolonged Washington response reached about $13.1 million, reflecting the complex logistical demands of containing the timber-fueled incident in Spokane County. While seasonal blazes in the region typically span from June to October, this particular event unfolded against a broader national backdrop where 3,442,406 hectares have burned across the country so far in 2026, tracking 37% below the two-decade average.