Bunker Fire, East Camden, Arkansas

True view Fire view

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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

Location2 miles east of East Camden, AR

What's burningSouthern Rough

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.Flanking — Grows along the sides, not head-on.

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

JurisdictionPrivate land

Cost so far$500,000

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

The Bunker Fire in Calhoun County, Arkansas, which burned 2,851 acres over the course of 38 days near East Camden, has officially ended after achieving full containment. Located 2 miles east of East Camden, the Type 3 incident burned through private land featuring Southern Rough fuel, driven by minimal, spotting, and flanking fire behavior. Throughout its duration, the fire exhibited an average daily growth of about 75 acres per day.

Suppression efforts for the Bunker Fire involved a minimal crew of 1 personnel, ultimately accumulating a total cost of about $500,000. The incident began on September 14, 2026, within the region's typical fire season that runs from June to October. While this local fire has concluded, the broader national context shows that 3,442,406 hectares have burned across the country so far in 2026, tracking 37% below the two-decade average.