Hummingbird Fire, New Mexico — Map & Containment

Hummingbird Fire (New Mexico) — Sentinel-2 true color

Hummingbird Fire (New Mexico) — Sentinel-2 SWIR (fuego)

True view Fire view

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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

Key facts

Source: NIFC

Location15 miles east of Glenwood, NM

CauseNatural

What's burningTimber (Grass and Understory)

How it's behavingMinimalSmoldering — Burning without flame, in the ground or in roots. Can flare up days later.Creeping — Moves slowly, hugging the ground.Backing — Moves against the wind or downhill, which makes it slower.

ComplexityType 4 IncidentOfficial scale from 5 to 1: a Type 1 is the most complex in the country.

JurisdictionUSFS · Federal land

Cost so far$5.8 million

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.

The story so far

After burning for 208 days across Catron County, New Mexico, the natural-cause Hummingbird Fire is now fully contained at 5,716 acres. Located 15 miles east of Glenwood, the incident was managed by a Type 5 IC with just 4 personnel assigned, reflecting the subdued conditions on the ground. Fire behavior is reported as minimal, characterized by smoldering, creeping, and backing through timber consisting of grass and understory on federal land overseen by the USFS. Throughout its protracted run, the fire averaged an approximate daily growth of 27 acres per day.

Total suppression costs for the Type 4 Incident have reached about $5.8 million, recorded specifically as 5,759,000 USD. While this single fire has concluded its active phase, the broader wildfire landscape reveals that 3,540,413 hectares have burned so far in 2026 across the country, tracking 35% below the two-decade average. This activity unfolds well ahead of the region's typical fire season, which conventionally runs from June to October.

In context

This wildfire has been burning in New Mexico for 208 days. So far it has affected roughly 5,716 acres — about 23 km². The perimeter is 100% contained.

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