Cold Springs Fire, Douglas, Wyoming

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

Location7 miles southwest of Douglas, WY

CauseHuman

What's burningShort Grass (1 foot)

How it's behavingMinimalRunning — Runs along the ground much faster than a person walks.Wind Driven Runs — The wind pushes it in long runs in one direction.

ComplexityType 4 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

Burning across private lands located 7 miles southwest of Douglas, Wyoming, in Converse County, the human-caused Cold Springs Fire burned a total of 1,966 acres over the course of 75 days after starting on August 10, 2026. The incident, which typically aligns with the regional fire season spanning from June to October, maintained an average daily growth of approximately 26 acres per day while exhibiting minimal, running, and wind-driven run fire behaviors fueled by one-foot short grass.

Operations to manage the blaze involved 78 personnel working under a Type 4 incident classification until the fire reached 100 percent containment and ultimately ended. The total cost to address the incident reached about $500,000.

This event unfolds within a broader national landscape where 3,453,410 hectares have burned so far in 2026, marking a figure that sits 37 percent below the two-decade average for the country.