Border 2 Fire, Marblemount, 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

Location36 miles northeast of Marblemount, WA

CauseNatural

What's burningTimber (Litter and Understory)

How it's behavingMinimalSpotting — 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.Creeping — Moves slowly, hugging the ground.Backing — Moves against the wind or downhill, which makes it slower.

ComplexityType 4 IncidentOfficial scale from 5 to 1: a Type 1 is the most complex in the country.

JurisdictionNPS · Federal land

Cost so far$5.7 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

Following a 101-day run that began on July 17, 2026, the naturally caused Border 2 Fire in Whatcom County, Washington, has ended. Burning in timber with litter and understory about 36 miles northeast of Marblemount, the incident saw an average daily growth of roughly 90 acres per day before reaching 74 percent containment and ultimately concluding.

Throughout its duration, the incident involved 18 personnel operating under a Type 4 Incident complexity level, managed by the National Park Service on federal land. Fire behavior ultimately wound down to minimal, creeping, backing, and spotting activity, leading to a total final cost of about $5.7 million, specifically recorded at 5,679,419 USD.

This event unfolded within the region's typical fire season, which spans from June to October. Across the broader national landscape, 2026 has seen 3,450,653 hectares burn thus far, a figure that tracks 37 percent below the two-decade average.