Wolf Creek Fire, Idaho — Map & Containment

Wolf Creek Fire (Idaho) — Sentinel-2 true color

Wolf Creek Fire (Idaho) — 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

Location19 miles east of Lowell, ID

What's burningTimber (Litter and Understory)

How it's behavingMinimalCreeping — Moves slowly, hugging the ground.Backing — Moves against the wind or downhill, which makes it slower.

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

JurisdictionUSFS · Federal land

Cost so far$7,000

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

Burning across federal timber land within Idaho County, the Wolf Creek Fire located nineteen miles east of Lowell, Idaho, ultimately consumed 2,643 acres over a span of ninety-nine days. Managed by the United States Forest Service as a Type 4 Incident, the fire was fueled by timber litter and understory, exhibiting minimal, creeping, and backing behavior during its lengthy duration. The incident involved a single personnel and reached a final cost of about $7,000.

By the time the fire ended after its start on July 17, 2026, it achieved full 100 percent containment. This event unfolded during the region's typical fire season, which runs from June to October. Nationally, the broader context showed that 3,455,585 hectares had burned across the country so far in 2026, marking a figure 37 percent below the two-decade average.