Beachcomb Fire, Warm Springs, 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

Location4 miles south of Warm Springs, OR

What's burningTimber (Grass and Understory)

How it's behavingExtreme, Long-range SpottingRunning — Runs along the ground much faster than a person walks.

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

JurisdictionBIA · Federal land

Cost so far$558,188

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 through timber with grass and understory across Jefferson County, Oregon, the Beachcomb Fire scorched 13,648 acres near Warm Springs before finally ending. Managed as a Type 3 Incident by the BIA on federal land, the 95-day incident demonstrated extreme, running behavior with long-range spotting as it grew at an approximate rate of 144 acres per day.

Suppression efforts involved 75 personnel and totaled about $558,000 in costs before crews achieved full containment. The Oregon fire occurred during the region's typical fire season, which runs from June to October. Across the country, 2026 has seen 3,450,833 hectares burn so far, marking a total that sits 37% below the two-decade average.