Jackass Butte Fire, Burns, OR, Oregon (2026)

This fire in numbersDay 54

10,005Hectares24,724Acres54Days burning

Containment92%

Started on Jul 25, 2026. 8% of the perimeter still to contain.

United States todayLive

107Active491Hotspots 48h1.4 MHectares

Last 7 days · steady

All United States wildfires

Jackass Butte Fire (Oregon) — Sentinel-2 true color

Jackass Butte Fire (Oregon) — 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 nearby2 · 100 km

15KM NStubble Fire15,673 acres · 93% contained 74KM NWSecond Flat Fire106 k acres · 99% contained

Within 100 kmSee on map →

Quick facts

Location: 40 miles south of Burns, OR
Cause: Natural
People working on it: 3 people
Complexity: Type 3 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: BLM · 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 for 16 days across Harney County, Oregon, the Jackass Butte Fire has steadily expanded at an average daily rate of approximately 1,545 acres, ultimately consuming 24,724 acres of federal land overseen by the BLM. Located 40 miles south of Burns, the incident currently exhibits minimal, backing, and smoldering fire behavior within short grass fuels standing one foot tall.

Containment efforts have reached 92 percent under the direction of a Type 3 Incident management team, with 54 personnel assigned to the operation. The natural-cause fire has accumulated $2,054,288.31 in costs since it started on July 25, 2026.

This event occurs within a wider regional context where the typical fire season runs from June to October. Nationally, 2,761,076 hectares have burned so far in 2026, marking a total that is 50 percent below the two-decade average.

In context

This wildfire has been burning in Oregon for 53 days. So far it has affected roughly 24,724 acres — about 100 km². At 92% containment, the fire is nearly under control.

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