Started on Aug 9, 2026.
United States todayLive
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 nearby3 · 100 km
Quick facts
- Location
- 20 miles west of Vega, TX
- People working on it
- 75 people
- Complexity
- Type 5 IncidentOfficial scale from 5 to 1: a Type 1 is the most complex in the country.
- What's burning
- Brush (2 feet)
- How it's behaving
- ExtremeWind Driven Runs — The wind pushes it in long runs in one direction.Flanking — Grows along the sides, not head-on.
- Jurisdiction
- SFS · Private land
Glossary: what each term means
Barely moving. Low, thin smoke.
Burning without flame, in the ground or in roots. Can flare up days later.
Moves slowly, hugging the ground.
Spreads with low, steady flames.
Spreading evenly and steadily, with visible flame.
Fast and unpredictable.
Runs along the ground much faster than a person walks.
Grows along the sides, not head-on.
Moves against the wind or downhill, which makes it slower.
Climbs into the treetops and jumps crown to crown. It can't be attacked from the ground.
Climbs into the crowns in bursts and drops back down.
Whole trees flaring up like torches.
Single scattered trees flaring up whole, like torches.
Whole clumps of trees flaring at once.
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.
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 through two-foot brush under extreme fire behavior, the active Brown Fire in Oldham County, Texas, has reached 800 acres while under Type 5 Incident management by SFS. Satellites are picking up 5 heat signatures near the private land in the last 48 hours, illustrating the current spread of the front.
This incident unfolds during the region's typical fire season, which runs from June to October, following the start of the blaze on August 9, 2026. Across the country, 2,799,726 hectares have burned so far in 2026, marking a figure that is 49 percent below the two-decade average.
Firefighting efforts have brought the incident to 60 percent containment as crews continue to manage the active situation on the ground.
In context
This wildfire burned in Texas for 2 days. In total it burned about 613 acres — around 2.5 km².
In the Northern Hemisphere, wildfire activity usually peaks during the warm, dry months — roughly May through October.
The bigger picture in United States
Across United States, roughly 3,270,726 hectares have burned so far in 2026 — 40% below the two-decade average. Data from Copernicus GWIS.
We'll email you if it grows, if it gets more contained, or if it goes out.
At most one alert every 6 hours, and only when something changes.
No account. One-click unsubscribe. · Privacy
Community reports
Reports from people near the fire · unverified
Be the first to report what is happening →
Not official emergency information. In an emergency, contact fire services/authorities.
More fires in Texas
- Harris FireEnded
- West Fork FireEnded
- Shotgun FireEnded
- Nethery FireEnded
- Cusenbarry Draw FireEnded
- Star Lake FireContained