Smore Fire, Idaho (2026) — Map & Containment

This fire in numbersDay 1

202Hectares500Acres1Days burning

Containment20%

Started on Oct 17, 2026. 80% of the perimeter still to contain.

United States todayLive

41Active791Hotspots 48h567 kHectares

Last 7 days · steady

All United States wildfires

Yesterday's image: fire shows in orange and red. NASA MODIS

Red dots: heat detected by satellite in the last 48h. NASA FIRMS

Quick facts

Location: 18 miles southwest of BOISE, ID
Cause: Human
People working on it: 32 people
Complexity: Type 4 IncidentOfficial scale from 5 to 1: a Type 1 is the most complex in the country.
What's burning: Short Grass (1 foot)
How it's behaving: ActiveFlanking — Grows along the sides, not head-on.Backing — Moves against the wind or downhill, which makes it slower.
Jurisdiction: BLM · 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.

Burning across 500 acres of federal land overseen by the BLM, the active Smore Fire is currently 20 percent contained 18 miles southwest of Boise, Idaho, in Ada County. The Type 4 Incident is managed by a Type 4 Incident Commander directing 32 personnel, and has cost 75,000 dollars to date following its ignition from a human cause on October 17, 2026.

Fueled by short grass measuring one foot, the fire behavior is characterized as active, flanking, and backing. Satellites are picking up 12 heat detections in the past 48 hours clustering nearby, mapping the current spread of the incident.

This event unfolds within a regional fire season that typically spans from June to October. Nationally, the broader context shows 3,394,363 hectares burned so far in 2026, marking a figure 38 percent below the two-decade average.

In context

This wildfire has been burning in Idaho for less than a day. So far it has affected roughly 500 acres — about 2.0 km². Crews have contained 20% of the perimeter, but most of the fire line is still open.

In the Northern Hemisphere, wildfire activity usually peaks during the warm, dry months — roughly May through October.