Buzzard Fire, Lebec, California

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

Location6 miles northwest of Lebec, CA

CauseHuman

What's burningTall Grass (2.5 feet)

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

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

JurisdictionPrivate 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.

The story so far

Summary written on Aug 13, while the fire was still active. It has since ended — the figures above are current.

Burning across 902 acres of private land in Kern County, California, the human-caused Buzzard Fire is now fully contained after an eight-day run that averaged approximately 113 acres per day. Located six miles northwest of Lebec near the city of Lebec, the incident saw crews navigate tall grass measuring two and a half feet.

Fire behavior on the incident reduced to minimal, backing, and creeping activity as suppression efforts took hold. Managing the response required 55 personnel operating under a Type 4 Incident command structure.

Across the country, the wider wildfire landscape reveals that 2,893,377 hectares have burned so far in 2026, marking a figure 47% below the two-decade average. This activity occurs within the region's typical fire season, which runs from June to October.