Weiser Knoll Fire, Lander, Wyoming

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

Location13 miles southeast of Lander, WY

What's burningShort Grass (1 foot)

How it's behavingMinimalFlanking — Grows along the sides, not head-on.Isolated Torching — Single scattered trees flaring up whole, like torches.

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

JurisdictionBLM · Federal land

Cost so far$3.0 million

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

Having burned across 15,817 acres of federal land managed by the BLM, the Weiser Knoll Fire near Lander, Wyoming, in Fremont County, has officially ended after a 75-day run that saw an average daily growth of approximately 211 acres per day. The incident, which started on August 9, 2026, was successfully brought to a 95 percent containment level by 69 personnel operating under a Type 4 Incident command.

During its active phase, the fire burned through short grass measuring one foot in height, exhibiting minimal, flanking, and isolated torching behavior. The operational response and suppression efforts for this federal incident accumulated a total cost of about $3 million, or 3,000,000 USD.

This fire occurred within the region's typical fire season, which spans from June to October. On a broader national scale, the year 2026 has seen a total of 3,455,585 hectares burned so far, placing the country's burned area 37 percent below the two-decade average.