Willow Fire (CO)
True color
Fire (SWIR)
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).
Quick facts
- Location
- 6 Miles W from Leadville, CO
- Cause
- Human
- Personnel
- 10
- Complexity
- Type 4 Incident
- Fuel
- Brush (2 feet)
- Behavior
- Minimal, Smoldering, Creeping
- Jurisdiction
- USFS · Federal land
Burning for 52 days with an average daily growth of approximately 145 acres per day, the active Willow Fire spans 7,534 acres located six miles west of Leadville, Colorado, in Lake County. The incident is managed by a Type 4 IC with 11 personnel assigned under the USFS, operating on federal land with a total cost of $37 million.
Currently exhibiting minimal, smoldering, and creeping behavior within two-foot brush fuels, the fire has reached 80 percent containment since starting on June 28, 2026, due to human causes. This incident unfolds during the region's typical fire season, which runs from June to October.
Nationwide, 2,943,064 hectares have burned so far in 2026, marking a total that is 46 percent below the two-decade average.
In context
This wildfire has been burning in Colorado for 58 days. So far it has affected roughly 7,534 acres — about 30 km². About 80% of the perimeter is contained — over half is secured, though hotspots remain.
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 3,021,962 hectares have burned so far in 2026 — 45% below the two-decade average. Data from Copernicus GWIS.
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Community reports
Reports from people near the fire · unverified
Not official emergency information. In an emergency, contact fire services/authorities.
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