Red Gate Fire, Eldorado, Texas — Map & Containment

Red Gate Fire, Eldorado, Texas — Sentinel-2 true color

Red Gate Fire, Eldorado, Texas — 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

Key facts

Source: NIFC

Location4 miles northeast of Eldorado, TX

What's burningTall Grass (2.5 feet)

How it's behavingActiveFlanking — Grows along the sides, not head-on.

ComplexityType 5 IncidentOfficial scale from 5 to 1: a Type 1 is the most complex in the country.

JurisdictionSFS · 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.

The story so far

Summary written on Sep 8, while the fire was still active. It has since ended — the figures above are current.

Burning through tall grass measuring 2.5 feet in height, the active Red Gate Fire has consumed 499 acres in Schleicher County, Texas, located four miles northeast of Eldorado. Satellites are picking up a moderate heat signature with three detections over the past 48 hours, highlighting the extent of the spread across private land as the blaze exhibits active, flanking behavior.

A Type 5 Incident managed by a Type 5 Incident Commander, the fire is currently 90 percent contained with 31 personnel assigned to the operation by the SFS. Having started on September 7, 2026, the incident unfolds within a typical regional fire season that spans from June to October.

This event occurs during a broader national fire year in which 3,186,142 hectares have burned so far in 2026, marking a total that sits 42 percent below the two-decade average.