Jackass Butte Fire, Burns, OR, Oregon

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

Location40 miles south of Burns, OR

CauseNatural

What's burningShort Grass (1 foot)

How it's behavingMinimalSmoldering — Burning without flame, in the ground or in roots. Can flare up days later.Creeping — Moves slowly, hugging the ground.

ComplexityType 3 IncidentOfficial scale from 5 to 1: a Type 1 is the most complex in the country.

JurisdictionBLM · Federal land

Cost so far$3.1 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

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 90 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.