Started on Sep 8, 2026.
United States todayLive
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
- 30 miles south of Beaumont, TX
- Cause
- Natural
- People working on it
- 10 people
- Complexity
- Type 4 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
- ActiveSmoldering — Burning without flame, in the ground or in roots. Can flare up days later.
- Jurisdiction
- USFWS · 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 3,000 acres of federal land in Jefferson County, the active Unit 12 Middle Fire is located 30 miles south of Beaumont, Texas. Responding to the natural-cause fire, which started on September 8, 2026, are 10 personnel operating under a Type 4 Incident management structure. Current fire behavior is characterized as active and smoldering within tall grass fuels measuring 2.5 feet in height. Satellites have detected 19 heat signatures near the perimeter over the past 48 hours, indicating the extent of the spread.
The USFWS oversees the incident, which has reached 50 percent containment with suppression costs tallied at $10,000. This fire occurs within a regional season that typically spans from June to October. Nationally, the broader context shows 3,195,047 hectares burned so far in 2026, marking a figure 42% below the two-decade average.
In context
This wildfire burned in Texas for 2 days. In total it burned about 3,000 acres — around 12 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 3,368,499 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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