Lost Fire, California — Map & Containment

Lost Fire (California) — Sentinel-2 true color

Lost Fire (California) — 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

Key facts

Source: NIFC

Location35 miles west of Bakersfield, CA

What's burningTall Grass (2.5 feet)

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

JurisdictionPrivate land

Cost so far$500,000

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 for 149 days across Kern County, California, the Lost Fire has been successfully contained. Located 35 miles west of Bakersfield, the incident spanned 7,834 acres of private land featuring tall grass standing 2.5 feet high. Throughout its lengthy duration, the fire exhibited an average daily growth of about 53 acres per day. Fire behavior at the site has been reported as minimal, creeping, and smoldering.

Operations to manage and contain the incident involved 35 personnel operating under a Type 4 Incident complexity and Type 4 IC management. The total cost to suppress the Lost Fire reached about $500,000. The incident began on June 18, 2026, arriving near the end of the region's typical fire season which spans from June to October.

Nationwide, the broader wildfire context shows that 3,540,413 hectares have burned so far in 2026, marking a figure that is 35% below the two-decade average for the country.

In context

This wildfire has been burning in California for 149 days. So far it has affected roughly 7,834 acres — about 32 km². The perimeter is 100% contained.

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