Lumin Fire, Sheridan, Wyoming — Map & Containment

Lumin Fire, Sheridan, Wyoming — Sentinel-2 true color

Lumin Fire, Sheridan, Wyoming — 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

Location22 miles east of Sheridan, WY

CauseNatural

What's burningShort Grass (1 foot)

How it's behavingMinimalRunning — Runs along the ground much faster than a person walks.Flanking — Grows along the sides, not head-on.

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

JurisdictionPrivate land

Cost so far$1.1 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

The natural-cause Lumin Fire, which burned across private land in Sheridan County, Wyoming, 22 miles east of Sheridan, concluded a remarkable 86-day run after scorching 7,285 acres of short grass. Burning through a typical fire season that stretches from June to October, the incident exhibited fire behavior that included minimal, running, and flanking activity. A Type 3 incident managed by a modest team of just 4 personnel, the operation ultimately reached 100 percent containment at a final cost of about $1.1 million (1,100,000 USD).

Throughout its duration, the fire maintained an average daily growth of roughly 85 acres per day before finally coming to an end. This event unfolded against a broader national backdrop in 2026, where a total of 3,450,653 hectares had burned so far, tracking 37 percent below the country's two-decade average.