Paradise Fire, Pendleton, Oregon (2026)

This fire in numbersDay 91

3,908Hectares9,656Acres91Days burning

Containment86%

Started on Jul 16, 2026. 14% of the perimeter still to contain.

United States todayLive

48Active436Hotspots 48h813 kHectares

Last 7 days · steady

All United States wildfires

Paradise Fire (Oregon) — Sentinel-2 true color

Paradise Fire (Oregon) — 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

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

Active fires nearby3 · 100 km

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Within 100 kmSee on map →

Quick facts

Location: 18 miles east of Milton-Freewater, OR
Cause: Natural
People working on it: 20 people
Complexity: Type 4 IncidentOfficial scale from 5 to 1: a Type 1 is the most complex in the country.
What's burning: Timber (Litter and Understory)
How it's behaving: MinimalSmoldering — Burning without flame, in the ground or in roots. Can flare up days later.
Jurisdiction: USFS · Federal 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 for 62 days across the federal timberlands of Wallowa County, Oregon, the 9,656-acre Paradise Fire near Pendleton has maintained an average daily growth of approximately 156 acres per day. Located 18 miles east of Milton-Freewater, the blaze remains active despite reaching 86 percent containment under the oversight of a Complex Incident Management Team.

Fire behavior is currently characterized as minimal, creeping, and smoldering within the litter and understory fuels. A total of 575 personnel are assigned to the Type 1 Incident, which was naturally ignited on July 16, 2026. Suppression operations managed by the USFS have accumulated a total cost of $51,746,797.

This incident unfolds during the region's typical fire season, which spans from June to October. Nationally, the broader fire context shows 3,226,886 hectares burned so far in 2026, tracking 41% below the two-decade average.

In context

This wildfire has been burning in Oregon for 90 days. So far it has affected roughly 9,656 acres — about 39 km². About 86% 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.