Elk Fire (Colorado)
True color
Fire (SWIR)
Infrared / SWIR (right): sees through smoke.
🟢 green = vegetation
🟤 red/brown = burned
🟠 orange = active fire
Imagery: Sentinel-2 (Copernicus). Drag to compare smoke vs. infrared.
Heat detections: NASA FIRMS (last 48h).
Quick facts
- Location
- 7 Miles NW from Lake City, CO
- Personnel
- 104
- Complexity
- Type 3 Incident
- Fuel
- Short Grass (1 foot)
- Behavior
- Minimal, Creeping, Single Tree Torching, Smoldering
- Jurisdiction
- USFS · Federal land
Burning for 51 days across federal land managed by the USFS, the active Elk Fire spans 7,257 acres located seven miles northwest of Lake City, Colorado, in Hinsdale County. The incident is currently managed by a Type 3 Team as a Type 3 Incident, supported by 104 personnel and backed by a total suppression cost of $28,273,228.
With an average daily growth of approximately 142 acres per day, the fire exhibits minimal, creeping, single tree torching, and smoldering fire behavior fueled by one-foot short grass. Despite these ongoing developments, suppression efforts have achieved 64 percent containment since the fire started on July 9, 2026.
This incident occurs against the backdrop of the region's typical fire season, which runs from June to October. Across the country, 3,133,897 hectares have burned so far in 2026, marking a total that is 43 percent below the two-decade average.
In context
This wildfire has been burning in Colorado for 52 days. So far it has affected roughly 7,257 acres — about 29 km². About 64% 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.
The bigger picture in United States
Across United States, roughly 3,133,897 hectares have burned so far in 2026 — 43% below the two-decade average. Data from Copernicus GWIS.
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