Crooked Fire, Idaho (2026) — Map & Containment

This fire in numbersDay 28

4,080Hectares10,081Acres28Days burning

Containment93%

Started on Aug 18, 2026. 7% of the perimeter still to contain.

United States todayLive

101Active362Hotspots 48h1.4 MHectares

Last 7 days · steady

All United States wildfires

Crooked Fire (Idaho) — Sentinel-2 true color

Crooked Fire (Idaho) — 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: 15 miles east of IDAHO CITY, ID
Cause: Human
People working on it: 231 people
Complexity: Type 3 IncidentOfficial scale from 5 to 1: a Type 1 is the most complex in the country.
What's burning: Timber (Litter and Understory)
How it's behaving: Minimal, Short-range SpottingSmoldering — Burning without flame, in the ground or in roots. Can flare up days later.Creeping — Moves slowly, hugging the ground.
Jurisdiction: USFS · Federal 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 10,081 acres of federal timber within Boise County, the human-caused Crooked Fire is located 15 miles east of Idaho City, Idaho. Entering its 26th day of activity since starting on August 18, 2026, the active wildfire has sustained an average daily growth of approximately 388 acres per day.

Fire behavior is currently minimal, characterized by smoldering, creeping, and short-range spotting in the litter and understory fuels. A contingent of 263 personnel, managed by a Complex Incident Management Team as a Type 3 Incident under USFS authority, has achieved 93 percent containment on the incident, with suppression costs totaling $22,800,000.

This fire occurs within the region's typical fire season, which runs from June to October. Across the broader national landscape, 3,213,890 hectares have burned so far in 2026, marking a total that is 41 percent below the two-decade average.

In context

This wildfire has been burning in Idaho for 27 days. So far it has affected roughly 10,081 acres — about 41 km². At 93% containment, the fire is nearly under control.

In the Northern Hemisphere, wildfire activity usually peaks during the warm, dry months — roughly May through October.