Wichita Hills Fire, Anadarko, Oklahoma

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

Location2 miles northwest of Anadarko, OK

What's burningTall Grass (2.5 feet)

How it's behavingMinimalSmoldering — Burning without flame, in the ground or in roots. Can flare up days later.

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

JurisdictionBIA · Federal land

Cost so far$120,000

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

The Wichita Hills Fire, which burned across Caddo County in Oklahoma, has officially ended after a 91-day run that saw the blaze consume 286 acres at an approximate daily growth rate of 3 acres. Ignited on August 14, 2026, roughly two miles northwest of Anadarko, the fire advanced through tall grass reaching heights of 2.5 feet on federal land under the jurisdiction of the Bureau of Indian Affairs.

By the time firefighters brought the incident to a 90 percent containment level, operations involved a minimal crew of three personnel managing a Type 4 incident characterized by minimal and smoldering fire behavior. Total costs to suppress the remote federal incident reached about $120,000.

This fire occurred against a broader national backdrop during the region's typical fire season, which runs from June to October. Across the country, 3,513,072 hectares have burned so far in 2026, marking a total that is 36 percent below the two-decade average.