Post Fire, Colorado (2026) — Map & Containment

This fire in numbersDay 33

1,754Hectares4,335Acres33Days burning

Containment90%

Started on Aug 12, 2026. 10% of the perimeter still to contain.

United States todayLive

101Active673Hotspots 48h1.4 MHectares

Last 7 days · steady

All United States wildfires

Post Fire (Colorado) — Sentinel-2 true color

Post Fire (Colorado) — 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

Quick facts

Location: 7 miles southeast of Trinidad, CO
Cause: Natural
People working on it: 1 people
Complexity: Type 5 IncidentOfficial scale from 5 to 1: a Type 1 is the most complex in the country.
What's burning: Short Grass (1 foot)
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.Isolated Torching — Single scattered trees flaring up whole, like torches.
Jurisdiction: Private 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 22 days across Las Animas County, the active Post Fire near Trinidad, Colorado, continues to produce minimal fire behavior characterized by creeping, smoldering, and isolated torching within short grass fuels. Having charred 4,335 acres at an approximate rate of 197 acres per day, the incident is currently 90 percent contained. Satellites are picking up three heat signatures nearby over the 48-hour window, illustrating the ongoing footprint of the blaze on private land.

A lone responder manages the Type 5 incident under a Type 4 IC structure, with suppression costs reaching $1,260,873 for the naturally caused fire that ignited on August 12, 2026. This activity occurs within the region's typical fire season, which spans from June to October. Nationally, the broader context shows 3,172,718 hectares burned so far in 2026, marking a figure that is 42 percent below the two-decade average.

In context

This wildfire has been burning in Colorado for 32 days. So far it has affected roughly 4,335 acres — about 18 km². At 90% containment, the fire is nearly under control.

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