Upper Smith Fire (ID)

Active · 0% contained · 1,032 acres · started 2026-07-08 · updated 2026-07-24

True color Fire (SWIR)

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True color (left): as the eye sees it.
Infrared / SWIR (right): sees through smoke.

🟢 green = vegetation
🟤 red/brown = burned
🟠 orange = active fire

Imagery: Sentinel-2 (Copernicus). Drag to compare smoke vs. infrared.

Heat detections: NASA FIRMS (last 48h).

Burning through timber litter and understory across 1,032 acres of federal land in Boundary County, the active Upper Smith Fire has steadily expanded by an average of about 65 acres per day over its 16-day burn period. Located six miles west of Porthill, Idaho, near Bonners Ferry, the naturally caused blaze is managed by a Complex Incident Management Team with 456 personnel, exhibiting active, flanking, backing, and group torching behavior.

Satellites have detected nine heat signatures near the uncontained fire area over the past 48 hours, highlighting the ongoing spread as ground crews work the incident, which has accumulated $9,400,212 in costs under USFS jurisdiction.