Lake Ranch Fire, Oklahoma (2026)

This fire in numbersDay 2

158Hectares390Acres2Days burning

Containment74%

Started on Sep 24, 2026. 26% of the perimeter still to contain.

United States todayLive

78Active655Hotspots 48h1.2 MHectares

Last 7 days · steady

All United States wildfires

Lake Ranch Fire (Oklahoma) — NASA satellite

Yesterday's image: fire shows in orange and red. NASA MODIS

Red dots: heat detected by satellite in the last 48h. NASA FIRMS

Quick facts

Location: 12 miles northwest of McAlester, OK
Cause: Human
People working on it: 8 people
Complexity: Type 4 IncidentOfficial scale from 5 to 1: a Type 1 is the most complex in the country.
What's burning: Tall Grass (2.5 feet)
How it's behaving: ActiveTorching — Whole trees flaring up like torches.
Jurisdiction: Private 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 through tall grass measuring 2.5 feet in height, the active Lake Ranch Fire has consumed 390 acres in Pittsburg County, Oklahoma, located 12 miles northwest of McAlester. Managed by a Type 4 Incident Command with eight personnel assigned, the human-caused fire exhibits active behavior and torching in private land. Suppression efforts have achieved 74 percent containment on the incident, which carries an estimated cost of 3,000 dollars.

Orbiting satellites have detected a single heat signature near the fire zone over the past 48 hours, illustrating the localized extent of the current spread. This incident unfolds during Oklahoma's typical fire season, which spans from June to October. Nationally, wildfire activity paints a broader picture: 3,273,976 hectares have burned across the country so far in 2026, marking a figure that is 40 percent below the two-decade average.

In context

This wildfire has been burning in Oklahoma for 1 day. So far it has affected roughly 390 acres — about 1.6 km². About 74% of the perimeter is contained — over half is secured, though hotspots remain.

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