Started on Aug 22, 2026.
United States todayLive
Green: vegetationBrown: already burnedOrange: fire right nowSentinel-2 · Copernicus
Red dots: heat detected by satellite in the last 48h. NASA FIRMS
Quick facts
- Location
- 10 miles northwest of Kimama, ID
- Cause
- Natural
- People working on it
- 30 people
- Complexity
- Type 3 IncidentOfficial scale from 5 to 1: a Type 1 is the most complex in the country.
- What's burning
- Tall Grass (2.5 feet)
- How it's behaving
- ModerateCreeping — Moves slowly, hugging the ground.
- Jurisdiction
- BLM · Federal land
Glossary: what each term means
Barely moving. Low, thin smoke.
Burning without flame, in the ground or in roots. Can flare up days later.
Moves slowly, hugging the ground.
Spreads with low, steady flames.
Spreading evenly and steadily, with visible flame.
Fast and unpredictable.
Runs along the ground much faster than a person walks.
Grows along the sides, not head-on.
Moves against the wind or downhill, which makes it slower.
Climbs into the treetops and jumps crown to crown. It can't be attacked from the ground.
Climbs into the crowns in bursts and drops back down.
Whole trees flaring up like torches.
Single scattered trees flaring up whole, like torches.
Whole clumps of trees flaring at once.
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.
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.
Burning across 1,500 acres of federal land in Lincoln County, Idaho, the active Shale Butte Fire is located 10 miles northwest of Kimama. Having burned for two days since its natural start on August 22, 2026, the fire is spreading at an approximate rate of 750 acres per day. Satellites are picking up a single heat detection in the area over the past 48 hours, marking the current spread of the incident.
Currently 40 percent contained, the fire exhibits moderate and creeping behavior through 2.5-foot tall grass fuels. Management of the incident falls under a Type 3 Incident command led by a Type 3 IC, directing a total of 30 personnel from the BLM. Suppression efforts have accumulated a cost of $150,000 so far.
This incident unfolds during the region's typical fire season, which runs from June to October. Across the country, 2,993,191 hectares have burned so far in 2026, placing the national burned area 45 percent below the two-decade average.
In context
This wildfire burned in Idaho for 3 days. In total it burned about 1,691 acres — around 6.8 km².
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 3,331,321 hectares have burned so far in 2026 — 39% below the two-decade average. Data from Copernicus GWIS.
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Community reports
Reports from people near the fire · unverified
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Not official emergency information. In an emergency, contact fire services/authorities.
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