Semi 270 Fire, Woodward, Oklahoma

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

Location8 miles northwest of Woodward, OK

CauseHuman

What's burningTall Grass (2.5 feet)

How it's behavingMinimal

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

JurisdictionPrivate land

Cost so far$46,000

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 14, while the fire was still active. It has since ended — the figures above are current.

Burning across private land 8 miles northwest of Woodward, Oklahoma, in Woodward County, the Semi 270 Fire has maintained an average daily growth of approximately 49 acres per day over the course of 14 days, scorching a total of 682 acres of 2.5-foot tall grass.

Fire behavior is currently minimal, and the incident is fully contained at 100 percent following its start on July 31, 2026, which was determined to be caused by human activity. Operations are managed by a Type 4 Incident Commander with a modest personnel of 4 individuals overseeing the Type 4 Incident, accumulating a total cost of $46,000.

This incident unfolds during the region's typical fire season, which runs from June to October, and aligns with a broader national context in which 2,902,022 hectares have burned across the country so far in 2026, marking a figure that is 47% below the two-decade average.