Started on Aug 9, 2026.
United States todayLive
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Fire view
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
Red dots: heat detected by satellite in the last 48h. NASA FIRMS
Quick facts
- Location
- 13 miles southeast of Lander, WY
- People working on it
- 69 people
- Complexity
- Type 4 IncidentOfficial scale from 5 to 1: a Type 1 is the most complex in the country.
- What's burning
- Short Grass (1 foot)
- How it's behaving
- MinimalFlanking — Grows along the sides, not head-on.Isolated Torching — Single scattered trees flaring up whole, like torches.
- Jurisdiction
- BLM · 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.
Spanning an expansive 15,817 acres across Fremont County, the active Weiser Knoll Fire has burned for five days at an average daily growth rate of approximately 3,163 acres per day since starting on August 9, 2026. Located 13 miles southeast of Lander, Wyoming, the Type 4 incident is currently exhibiting minimal, flanking, and isolated torching fire behavior within short grass fuels standing about one foot tall.
Despite the fire's steady progression on federal land managed by the BLM, suppression efforts have brought the incident to 95% containment. A total of 71 personnel, operating under a Type 3 Incident Commander, are assigned to the scene, with the total accumulated cost reaching $3,000,000.
This incident unfolds during the region's typical fire season, which runs from June to October. On a national level, the broader context shows that 2,902,022 hectares have burned across the country so far in 2026, tracking 47% below the two-decade average.
In context
This wildfire burned in Wyoming for 9 days. In total it burned about 15,817 acres — around 64 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 3,216,670 hectares have burned so far in 2026 — 41% 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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Not official emergency information. In an emergency, contact fire services/authorities.
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