Doublesprings Fire, Mackay, Idaho (2026)

This fire in numbersDay 58

720Hectares1,779Acres58Days burning

Containment70%

Started on Jul 24, 2026. 30% of the perimeter still to contain.

United States todayLive

86Active817Hotspots 48h1.3 MHectares

Last 7 days · falling

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Doublesprings Fire (Idaho) — Sentinel-2 true color

Doublesprings 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: 31 miles northwest of Mackay, ID
Cause: Natural
People working on it: 1 people
Complexity: Type 4 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: MinimalCreeping — Moves slowly, hugging the ground.Smoldering — Burning without flame, in the ground or in roots. Can flare up days later.
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 federal timber and understory in Custer County, Idaho, the active Doublesprings Fire has been on the landscape for 55 days since its natural ignition on July 24, 2026. Located 31 miles northwest of Mackay, the incident is currently managed by a Type 4 Incident Commander with a minimal personnel roster of just one worker, overseeing a footprint that has expanded at an approximate average rate of 32 acres per day to reach 1,779 acres.

Despite its long duration, fire behavior is currently reported as minimal, creeping, and smoldering, allowing suppression forces to achieve 70 percent containment on the incident while keeping total accumulated costs at $725,500. The USFS-managed fire unfolds against a broader national backdrop where 3,243,965 hectares have burned across the country so far in 2026, tracking 41 percent below the two-decade average during a regional fire season that typically spans from June to October.

In context

This wildfire has been burning in Idaho for 57 days. So far it has affected roughly 1,779 acres — about 7.2 km². About 70% of the perimeter is contained — over half is secured, though hotspots remain.

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