Secret Pass Fire, Spring Creek, Nevada

True view Fire view

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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

Location30 miles east of Elko, NV

CauseNatural

What's burningTimber (Litter and Understory)

How it's behavingMinimalSmoldering — Burning without flame, in the ground or in roots. Can flare up days later.Isolated Torching — Single scattered trees flaring up whole, like torches.

ComplexityType 3 IncidentOfficial scale from 5 to 1: a Type 1 is the most complex in the country.

JurisdictionPrivate land

Cost so far$4.1 million

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

Burning across 3,300 acres of private timber land in Elko County, Nevada, the Secret Pass Fire near Spring Creek burned for 89 days after starting naturally on July 26, 2026, averaging about 37 acres per day before finally ending. The fire behavior was characterized as minimal, smoldering, and showing isolated torching in the litter and understory.

A Type 3 Incident managed by just 3 personnel, the suppression effort reached 98 percent containment before the incident concluded, with total costs reaching about $4.1 million. This event unfolded within a regional fire season that typically runs from June to October.

Nationwide, the broader wildfire context for 2026 shows that 3,455,585 hectares have burned so far this year, tracking 37% below the two-decade average.