Mitchell Springs Fire (Oregon)

Burning across Malheur County, Oregon, 113 miles southeast of Burns, the active Mitchell Springs Fire has maintained an average daily growth of approximately 1,850 acres per day since it started on August 25, 2026. Satellites have picked up 13 heat signatures over the past 48 hours, illustrating the spread of the incident across the landscape as it burns through federal land managed by the BLM. Fueled by two-foot brush, the 3,700-acre wildfire is currently exhibiting extreme, running, and flanking fire behavior.

A total of 84 personnel are assigned to the Type 4 incident, operating under a Type 3 Incident Commander to establish containment lines, achieving 20 percent containment thus far at a cost of $450,000. The natural-cause fire is burning during the region's typical fire season, which runs from June to October. This incident unfolds within the broader context of the country's fire year, during which 3,102,331 hectares have burned so far in 2026, marking a figure 43 percent below the two-decade average.