Parker Lake Fire, Bonners Ferry, Idaho (2026)

This fire in numbersDay 50

620Hectares1,531Acres50Days burning

Containment1%

Started on Aug 23, 2026. 99% of the perimeter still to contain.

United States todayLive

50Active614Hotspots 48h732 kHectares

Last 7 days · steady

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Parker Lake Fire (Idaho) — Sentinel-2 true color

Parker Lake Fire (Idaho) — 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 nearby2 · 100 km

6.5KM NUpper Smith Fire4,848 acres · 41% contained 27KM SSilver Fire2,593 acres · 30% contained

Within 100 kmSee on map →

Quick facts

Location: 9 miles west of Copeland, ID
Cause: Natural
Complexity: Type 3 IncidentOfficial scale from 5 to 1: a Type 1 is the most complex in the country.
What's burning: Timber (Grass and Understory)
How it's behaving: MinimalCreeping — Moves slowly, hugging the ground.Smoldering — 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 40 days across 1,531 acres of federal timber with grass and understory, the active Parker Lake Fire is currently showing minimal, creeping, and smoldering fire behavior near Bonners Ferry, Idaho, located nine miles west of Copeland in Boundary County. The natural-cause fire, which started on August 23, 2026, has maintained an average daily growth of approximately 38 acres per day.

The incident is being managed by a Type 4 Incident Commander under a Type 3 Incident complexity designation by the USFS, with total costs reaching $420,042.66 while achieving one percent containment.

This fire occurs during the region's typical fire season, which runs from June to October. Nationally, 3,318,049 hectares have burned so far in 2026, marking a figure that is 39 percent below the two-decade average.

In context

This wildfire has been burning in Idaho for 49 days. So far it has affected roughly 1,531 acres — about 6.2 km². Crews have contained 1% of the perimeter, but most of the fire line is still open.

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