Johnson Fire, Mimbres, New Mexico

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

Location39 miles northwest of Mimbres, NM

CauseNatural

What's burningHardwood Litter

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

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

JurisdictionUSFS · Federal land

Cost so far$75,000

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

Having burned for 96 days across Catron and surrounding areas in New Mexico, the Johnson Fire has now ended after scorching 401 acres roughly 39 miles northwest of Mimbres. The blaze was ignited by natural causes on July 26, 2026, and advanced at an approximate daily growth rate of 4 acres per day through hardwood litter. During its lengthy duration, the incident was managed by a single personnel under a Type 5 Incident complexity, with operations overseen by the USFS on federal land.

As operations concluded, fire behavior was reported as minimal, creeping, and smoldering, and the incident achieved 100 percent containment before finally extinguishing. Total costs to manage the remote federal response reached about $75,000. The local fire season typically spans from June to October, aligning with the timing of this prolonged incident.

This occurrence unfolded within a broader national landscape where 3,475,756 hectares have burned across the country so far in 2026, tracking 37 percent below the two-decade average.