Started on Aug 6, 2026.
United States todayLive
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Fire view
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 southwest of LONG CREEK, OR
- Cause
- Human
- People working on it
- 4 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.Creeping — Moves slowly, hugging the ground.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.
- Jurisdiction
- Private land
Glossary: what each term means
Barely moving. Low, thin smoke.
Burning without flame, in the ground or in roots. Can flare up days later.
Moves slowly, hugging the ground.
Spreads with low, steady flames.
Spreading evenly and steadily, with visible flame.
Fast and unpredictable.
Runs along the ground much faster than a person walks.
Grows along the sides, not head-on.
Moves against the wind or downhill, which makes it slower.
Climbs into the treetops and jumps crown to crown. It can't be attacked from the ground.
Climbs into the crowns in bursts and drops back down.
Whole trees flaring up like torches.
Single scattered trees flaring up whole, like torches.
Whole clumps of trees flaring at once.
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.
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 Grant County, Oregon, the 722-acre Cottonwood Fire is now fully contained after a 16-day campaign fueled by timber, grass, and understory on private land. Located 15 miles southwest of Long Creek, the blaze was human-caused and managed under a Type 3 Incident structure with a Type 5 Incident Commander overseeing four personnel, accumulating a total cost of $2,636,827.
Throughout its 16-day progression, the fire advanced at an average daily growth of approximately 45 acres per day. Fire behavior has since moderated significantly, characterized by minimal activity, smoldering, creeping, and sporadic spotting.
This incident unfolds during the region's typical fire season, which spans from June to October. Nationally, the broader fire context shows 2,970,412 hectares burned so far in 2026, tracking 46% below the two-decade average.
In context
This wildfire burned in Oregon for 30 days. In total it burned about 722 acres — around 2.9 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 3,266,178 hectares have burned so far in 2026 — 40% 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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Not official emergency information. In an emergency, contact fire services/authorities.
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