Island Fire, Cibola, AZ, Arizona

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

Key facts

Source: NIFC

Location7 miles south of Cibola, AZ

What's burningBrush (2 feet)

How it's behavingMinimalSmoldering — Burning without flame, in the ground or in roots. Can flare up days later.Torching — Whole trees flaring up like torches.

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

JurisdictionUSFWS · Federal land

Cost so far$386,000

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 across La Paz County for eighty-nine days, the Island Fire south of Cibola, Arizona, has finally ended. The Type 5 Incident, which ignited on July 26, 2026, consumed 3,145 acres of federal brush land averaging two feet in height, growing at an approximate rate of thirty-five acres per day during its campaign.

Firefighting efforts involving six personnel managed to bring the blaze to ninety-five percent containment before it concluded. Operations were overseen by the USFWS, with total suppression costs reaching about $386,000. While minimal fire behavior, smoldering, and torching characterized the incident, the fire's long duration set it apart within the region's typical June to October fire season.

Across the country, the broader landscape tells a different story. A total of 3,455,585 hectares have burned so far in 2026, marking a figure that sits thirty-seven percent below the two-decade average for the nation.