Woodrat Mountain Fire, Jacksonville, Oregon

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

Location6 miles south of Jacksonville, OR

CauseHuman

What's burningTimber (Grass and Understory)

How it's behavingMinimal, Short-range SpottingSmoldering — Burning without flame, in the ground or in roots. Can flare up days later.

ComplexityType 3 IncidentOfficial scale from 5 to 1: a Type 1 is the most complex in the country.

JurisdictionBLM · Federal land

Cost so far$5.2 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

Summary written on Aug 22, while the fire was still active. It has since ended — the figures above are current.

Burning across federal timberlands in Jackson County, Oregon, the human-caused Woodrat Mountain Fire has spent sixteen days establishing its footprint six miles south of Jacksonville. Averaging approximately 18 acres of spread each day, the incident has ultimately consumed 282 acres of timber, grass, and understory while operating under a Type 3 Incident designation and Type 5 Incident Command management.

Fire behavior on the ground is currently characterized as minimal and smoldering, featuring short-range spotting as 55 personnel successfully bring the incident to 100 percent containment. Despite the weeks-long effort totaling $5,150,000 in suppression costs, the broader landscape tells a contrasting story. Across the country, 2,970,412 hectares have burned so far in 2026, marking a significant 46 percent below the two-decade average during a typical fire season that spans from June to October.