Ptarmigan 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
- 20 Miles NW from Mazama, WA
- Cause
- Natural
- Personnel
- 38
- Complexity
- Type 4 Incident
- Fuel
- Timber (Litter and Understory)
- Behavior
- Minimal, Creeping, Smoldering, Torching
- Jurisdiction
- USFS · Federal land
Burning across 25,166 acres of federal timber within Okanogan County, the Ptarmigan Fire is located 20 miles northwest of Mazama, Washington, and has been active for 48 days since starting on July 17, 2026. The incident is currently 73 percent contained under Type 4 Incident management by the USFS, with 38 personnel assigned and a total cost reaching $8,089,000.
The fire's progression averages approximately 524 acres per day. Current fire behavior includes minimal activity, creeping, smoldering, and torching within timber litter and understory fuels.
This year's wildfire activity unfolds against a broader backdrop where 3,169,257 hectares have burned across the country so far in 2026, marking a figure 42 percent below the two-decade average for a typical fire season that spans from June to October.
In context
This wildfire has been burning in Washington for 51 days. So far it has affected roughly 25,166 acres — about 102 km². About 73% 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.
The bigger picture in United States
Across United States, roughly 3,178,795 hectares have burned so far in 2026 — 42% below the two-decade average. Data from Copernicus GWIS.
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