Elk Fire, Lake City, Colorado (2026)

This fire in numbersDay 98

2,937Hectares7,257Acres98Days burning

Containment90%

Started on Jul 9, 2026. 10% of the perimeter still to contain.

United States todayLive

48Active241Hotspots 48h813 kHectares

Last 7 days · steady

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Elk Fire (Colorado) — Sentinel-2 true color

Elk Fire (Colorado) — 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

Active fires nearby1 · 100 km

30KM WGold Mountain Fire39,747 acres · 92% contained

Within 100 kmSee on map →

Quick facts

Location: 7 miles northwest of Lake City, CO
People working on it: 7 people
Complexity: Type 4 IncidentOfficial scale from 5 to 1: a Type 1 is the most complex in the country.
What's burning: Short Grass (1 foot)
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.
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 7,257 acres of federal land in Hinsdale County, the active Elk Fire has persisted for 84 days since starting on July 9, 2026, averaging approximately 86 acres per day of growth. Located 7 miles northwest of Lake City, Colorado, and managed by a Type 4 Incident Command under the USFS with 7 personnel assigned, the fire behavior is currently characterized as minimal, smoldering, and creeping through short grass fuels one foot in height.

Despite the prolonged duration of this Type 4 incident, suppression efforts have reached 90 percent containment, while total costs for the operation have accumulated to $28,846,472. This event unfolds during the region's typical fire season, which spans from June to October. On a broader scale across the country, 3,318,049 hectares have burned so far in 2026, marking a figure that sits 39 percent below the two-decade average.

In context

This wildfire has been burning in Colorado for 97 days. So far it has affected roughly 7,257 acres — about 29 km². At 90% containment, the fire is nearly under control.

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