Upton 3 Fire, Eden, Texas — Map & Containment

Upton 3 Fire, Eden, Texas — Sentinel-2 true color

Upton 3 Fire, Eden, Texas — 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

Location16 miles east of Christoval, TX

What's burningBrush (2 feet)

How it's behavingMinimalIsolated Torching — Single scattered trees flaring up whole, like torches.

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

JurisdictionSFS · Private 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.

The story so far

Summary written on Sep 17, while the fire was still active. It has since ended — the figures above are current.

Burning through two-foot brush in Tom Green County, the active Upton 3 Fire is located 16 miles east of Christoval, Texas, on private land managed by the SFS. Having burned for three days since its start on September 14, 2026, the fire has maintained an average daily growth of approximately 132 acres per day, totaling 395 acres burned.

Fire behavior is currently characterized as active with isolated torching. Response efforts involve 47 personnel operating under a Type 5 Incident management structure and a Type 5 Incident Commander, bringing the containment level up to 90 percent.

This incident unfolds during the region's typical fire season, which runs from June to October. On a broader scale, total burned area across the country has reached 3,243,965 hectares so far in 2026, tracking 41 percent below the two-decade average.