Xu Hill Fire, Rockyford, South Dakota

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

Location12 miles north of White River Ranger Station, SD

CauseNatural

What's burningTall Grass (2.5 feet)

How it's behavingMinimalRunning — Runs along the ground much faster than a person walks.Flanking — Grows along the sides, not head-on.

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

JurisdictionBIA · Federal land

Cost so far$150,000

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

Spanning a period of 75 days across Oglala Lakota, South Dakota, the natural Xu Hill Fire burned 1,297 acres of federal land dominated by 2.5-foot tall grass before finally coming to an end. Located near Rockyford and 12 miles north of the White River Ranger Station, the incident progressed at an average daily growth of approximately 17 acres per day under fire behaviors that included minimal, running, and flanking activity.

Operations to manage the Type 4 Incident involved 6 personnel working under the Bureau of Indian Affairs, accumulating a total cost of about $150,000 USD. The fire is now 100 percent contained and officially ended. This event unfolded during the region's typical fire season, which runs from June to October. Nationally, the broader context shows that 3,450,653 hectares have burned so far in 2026, marking a figure 37 percent below the two-decade average.