High Lava Fire, Washington (2026)

This fire in numbersDay 57

1,173Hectares2,899Acres57Days burning

Containment60%

Started on Jul 23, 2026. 40% of the perimeter still to contain.

United States todayLive

104Active381Hotspots 48h1.4 MHectares

Last 7 days · steady

All United States wildfires

High Lava Fire (Washington) — Sentinel-2 SWIR

Green: vegetationBrown: already burnedOrange: fire right nowSentinel-2 · Copernicus

Red dots: heat detected by satellite in the last 48h. NASA FIRMS

Active fires nearby3 · 100 km

82KM SThe Narrows Fire305 acres · 98% contained 84KM SEGrasshopper Fire93,996 acres · 98% contained 96KM SAustin Fire12,881 acres · 87% contained

Within 100 kmSee on map →

Quick facts

Location: 11 miles northwest of Stabler, WA
Cause: Natural
People working on it: 40 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: MinimalCreeping — Moves slowly, hugging the ground.Smoldering — Burning without flame, in the ground or in roots. Can flare up days later.Backing — Moves against the wind or downhill, which makes it slower.
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 2,899 acres of federal timber and understory in Skamania County, the active High Lava Fire is located 11 miles northwest of Stabler, Washington. Having burned for 56 days with an average daily growth of approximately 52 acres per day, the fire is currently 60 percent contained by 40 personnel operating under a Type 3 Incident designation and Type 4 Incident Commander management by the USFS.

Fire behavior is currently characterized as minimal, creeping, smoldering, and backing, driven by natural causes since it started on July 23, 2026. The cumulative financial cost for this incident has reached $17,000,000.

This fire occurs during the regional fire season that typically spans from June to October. Across the broader national landscape, 3,243,965 hectares have burned so far in 2026, marking a figure that is 41 percent below the two-decade average.

In context

This wildfire has been burning in Washington for 56 days. So far it has affected roughly 2,899 acres — about 12 km². About 60% 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.