Bull Fire, Reno, Nevada (2026) — Map & Containment

This fire in numbersDay 13

619Hectares1,529Acres13Days burning

Containment98%

Started on Oct 2, 2026. 2% of the perimeter still to contain.

United States todayLive

48Active436Hotspots 48h813 kHectares

Last 7 days · steady

All United States wildfires

Bull Fire (Nevada) — Sentinel-2 true color

Bull Fire (Nevada) — Sentinel-2 SWIR (fuego)

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

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

Quick facts

Location: 15 miles west of Reno, NV
Cause: Human
People working on it: 95 people
Complexity: Type 3 IncidentOfficial scale from 5 to 1: a Type 1 is the most complex in the country.
What's burning: Timber (Grass and Understory)
How it's behaving: MinimalSmoldering — Burning without flame, in the ground or in roots. Can flare up days later.
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 across private timber and grass understory in Washoe County, the Bull Fire is now 98 percent contained after ten days of activity near Reno, Nevada. The human-caused incident, which is being managed by a Type 3 Team with 128 personnel assigned, has consumed 1,529 acres at an average daily growth rate of approximately 153 acres per day. Fire behavior is currently reported as minimal and smoldering, bringing operations close to a final resolution with a total cost reaching $5,406,573.24.

This localized event unfolds within a broader national context where 3,366,046 hectares have burned across the country so far in 2026, tracking 39 percent below the two-decade average. The blaze itself aligns with the tail end of the region's typical fire season, which runs annually from June to October.

In context

This wildfire has been burning in Nevada for 12 days. So far it has affected roughly 1,529 acres — about 6.2 km². At 98% containment, the fire is nearly under control.

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