Sandpiper Fire, Evansville, Wyoming

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

Location14 miles east of Casper, WY

CauseHuman

What's burningTall Grass (2.5 feet)

How it's behavingMinimalCreeping — Moves slowly, hugging the ground.Running — Runs along the ground much faster than a person walks.

ComplexityType 4 IncidentOfficial scale from 5 to 1: a Type 1 is the most complex in the country.

JurisdictionBLM · 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.

The story so far

Summary written on Aug 10, while the fire was still active. It has since ended — the figures above are current.

Burning across federal lands in Natrona County, Wyoming, the Sandpiper Fire has maintained a steady presence 14 miles east of Casper near Evansville for 143 days. Spanning 6,287 acres of 2.5-foot tall grass at an average daily growth rate of approximately 44 acres per day, the human-caused wildfire is now fully contained at 100 percent.

Fire behavior is currently characterized as minimal, creeping, and running. Operations are being handled by a Type 4 incident management team with a dedicated personnel of nine individuals, operating under the Bureau of Land Management.

This incident unfolds during a broader national landscape where 2,799,726 hectares have burned so far in 2026, marking a figure 49% below the two-decade average, contrasting with the region's typical fire season which spans from June to October.