Modrite Fire (Washington)
True color
Fire (SWIR)
Infrared / SWIR (right): sees through smoke.
🟢 green = vegetation
🟤 red/brown = burned
🟠 orange = active fire
Imagery: Sentinel-2 (Copernicus). Drag to compare smoke vs. infrared.
Heat detections: NASA FIRMS (last 48h).
Quick facts
- Location
- 17 Miles SW from Inchelium, WA
- Cause
- Natural
- Personnel
- 41
- Complexity
- Type 1 Incident
- Fuel
- Timber (Grass and Understory)
- Behavior
- Minimal, Backing, Creeping, Smoldering
- Jurisdiction
- BIA · Federal land
Burning across Ferry County, Washington, the active Modrite Fire is located 17 miles southwest of Inchelium and spans 57,594 acres under the management of a Complex Incident Management Team with a Type 1 Incident complexity. After burning for 36 days since its natural start on July 17, 2026, the fire is now 98 percent contained, averaging an approximate daily growth of 1,600 acres per day.
Current fire behavior is minimal, characterized by backing, creeping, and smoldering within timber, grass, and understory fuels on federal land overseen by the BIA. Satellites are picking up a low number of heat signatures, with NASA FIRMS registering just 1 heat detection in the last 48 hours, reflecting the cooling front.
A crew of 258 personnel has been assigned to the incident, driving total suppression costs to $47,500,000. This event unfolds during the region's typical fire season, which runs from June to October, while national figures show 2,970,412 hectares burned so far in 2026, placing the year's total 46% below the two-decade average.
In context
This wildfire has been burning in Washington for 47 days. So far it has affected roughly 57,594 acres — about 233 km². At 98% containment, the fire is nearly under control.
In the Northern Hemisphere, wildfire activity usually peaks during the warm, dry months — roughly May through October.
The bigger picture in United States
Across United States, roughly 3,169,257 hectares have burned so far in 2026 — 42% below the two-decade average. Data from Copernicus GWIS.
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