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Bull Run Fire (Nevada)

Ended · 75% containedCrews stopped it spreading on 75% of the perimeter. Not the same as out, and not 75% burned. · 456 acres (184 hectares) · Started · Updated

This fire in numbers3 days
184Hectares456Acres3Days it lasted
Containment75%

Started on Aug 25, 2026.

United States todayLive
47Active1,337Hotspots 48h728 kHectares
Last 7 days · fallingHow many named wildfires were burning on each of the last 7 days. It rises when there are more than on the earlier days.
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Bull Run Fire (Nevada) — Sentinel-2 true color Bull Run 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
25 miles northeast of Tuscarora, NV
Cause
Natural
People working on it
18 people
Complexity
Type 4 IncidentOfficial scale from 5 to 1: a Type 1 is the most complex in the country.
What's burning
Short Grass (1 foot)
How it's behaving
Minimal
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 600 acres of private land in Elko, Nevada, the active Bull Run Fire has generated 12 satellite heat detections over the past 48 hours, illustrating the active thermal footprint left by the flames. The incident is unfolding within a regional context where the typical fire season spans from June to October. Across the broader national landscape, a total of 3,021,962 hectares have burned so far in 2026, marking a figure that sits 45% below the two-decade average.

First reported on August 25, 2026, the fire continues to burn actively on private property within Elko County.

In context

This wildfire burned in Nevada for 2 days. In total it burned about 456 acres — around 1.8 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 3,362,441 hectares have burned so far in 2026 — 39% below the two-decade average. Data from Copernicus GWIS.

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Community reports

Reports from people near the fire · unverified

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