Three Links Fire, Idaho — Map & Containment

Three Links Fire (Idaho) — Sentinel-2 true color

Three Links Fire (Idaho) — Sentinel-2 SWIR (fuego)

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

Location20 miles east of Lowell, ID

CauseNatural

What's burningTimber (Grass and Understory)

How it's behavingMinimal, Single Tree TorchingCreeping — Moves slowly, hugging the ground.

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

JurisdictionUSFS · Federal land

Cost so far$5,000

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 Oct 10, while the fire was still active. It has since ended — the figures above are current.

Burning across federal timber in Idaho's rugged backcountry, the Three Links Fire has consumed 927 acres over a staggering 78-day burn period, maintaining an average daily growth of approximately 12 acres per day. Located 20 miles east of Lowell in Idaho County, the blaze is managed by the USFS under a Type 4 Incident command with a dedicated crew of one personnel, reflecting a prolonged and quiet mop-up phase after months on the landscape.

Current fire behavior on the perimeter is minimal, characterized by creeping and occasional single tree torching within timber, grass, and understory fuels. Having started naturally on July 24, 2026, the incident has reached 100 percent containment, bringing the status to fully contained with a modest suppression cost of 5,000 USD.

This prolonged Idaho incident unfolds against a broader national backdrop where 3,362,441 hectares have burned so far in 2026, tracking 39 percent below the two-decade average for the country. The fire season in this region typically spans from June to October, encompassing long-duration events like the Three Links Fire as crews navigate federal timberlands through the autumn months.