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August 5, 2026 - Fires in Nevada and Utah
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The summer of 2026 brought devastating wildland fires to much of the western United States. In the opening days of August, Washington state and Oregon saw the most fires (33 and 16, respectively) while three of the fires burning in Oregon were the largest in the United States. But extreme fire weather wasn’t limited to the northwest. On August 4, the National Interagency Fire Center reported the following number of active large fires in Western states: 9 in Montana; 7 in Idaho; 6 in California; 6 in Nevada; 5 in Colorado; and 3 in Utah.
On August 2, the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Aqua satellite acquired this true-color image of several of the large wildfires in Nevada (west) and Utah (east), all of them south of Utah’s Great Salt Lake. Heavy smoke poured from each of the fires and was blown to the northeast.
The fire southwest of the Great Salt Lake is the Ward Lake Fire. It ignited on July 31 near Ward Mountain approximately nine miles south of Ely, Nevada. It was burning in dry sagebrush, pinyon-juniper and mixed conifer fuels in steep and rugged terrain, according to InciWeb. By August 4, the fire had expanded to 8,164 acres and 268 personnel were working the blaze, which remained 0 percent contained. The cause of the Ward Lake Fire is under investigation.
To the east, red hotspots mark blazes in the Fishlake National Forest, including (from north to south), the Wild Goose, Widemouth 2, and Cottonwood Fire. Although they are separate incidents, thick smoke and close proximity make it difficult to separate them in this image.
The Wild Goose Fire began on June 26 just south of Wild Goose Canyon on the Fishlake National Forest east of Holden and south of Scipio, Utah. The fire expanded quickly in the first 24 hours, prompting evacuations of nearby communities and a closure order on Fishlake National Forest. The incident report, found on InciWeb, states that on August 4 the Wild Goose Fire had burned 12,655 acres and was 98 percent contained. The origin is undetermined.
The Widemouth 2 Fire remained 0 percent contained as of August 4 and had grown to cover 84,409 acres, according to Utah Fire Info. It was first discovered on July 27, and its cause is listed as “natural”. It was still exhibiting active expansion on August 4. Fire officials noted that extreme high temperatures (over 100°F/37.8°C), gusting wind, and low humidity are expected for the next several days, creating favorable conditions for fire growth.
The Cottonwood Fire started on June 22 and experienced rapid growth, which was fueled by extremely dry fuel and weather conditions conducive to extreme fire behavior. By August 4, the fire had burned 97,464 acres and was 95 percent contained, according to Utah Fire Info. The cause is listed as “undetermined”.
Image Facts
Satellite:
Terra
Date Acquired: 8/2/2026
Resolutions:
1km (80.4 KB), 500m (280.7 KB), 250m (943.7 KB)
Bands Used: 1,4,3
Image Credit:
MODIS Land Rapid Response Team, NASA GSFC
The summer of 2026 brought devastating wildland fires to much of the western United States. In the opening days of August, Washington state and Oregon saw the most fires (33 and 16, respectively) while three of the fires burning in Oregon were the largest in the United States. But extreme fire weather wasn’t limited to the northwest. On August 4, the National Interagency Fire Center reported the following number of active large fires in Western states: 9 in Montana; 7 in Idaho; 6 in California; 6 in Nevada; 5 in Colorado; and 3 in Utah.
On August 2, the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Aqua satellite acquired this true-color image of several of the large wildfires in Nevada (west) and Utah (east), all of them south of Utah’s Great Salt Lake. Heavy smoke poured from each of the fires and was blown to the northeast.
The fire southwest of the Great Salt Lake is the Ward Lake Fire. It ignited on July 31 near Ward Mountain approximately nine miles south of Ely, Nevada. It was burning in dry sagebrush, pinyon-juniper and mixed conifer fuels in steep and rugged terrain, according to InciWeb. By August 4, the fire had expanded to 8,164 acres and 268 personnel were working the blaze, which remained 0 percent contained. The cause of the Ward Lake Fire is under investigation.
To the east, red hotspots mark blazes in the Fishlake National Forest, including (from north to south), the Wild Goose, Widemouth 2, and Cottonwood Fire. Although they are separate incidents, thick smoke and close proximity make it difficult to separate them in this image.
The Wild Goose Fire began on June 26 just south of Wild Goose Canyon on the Fishlake National Forest east of Holden and south of Scipio, Utah. The fire expanded quickly in the first 24 hours, prompting evacuations of nearby communities and a closure order on Fishlake National Forest. The incident report, found on InciWeb, states that on August 4 the Wild Goose Fire had burned 12,655 acres and was 98 percent contained. The origin is undetermined.
The Widemouth 2 Fire remained 0 percent contained as of August 4 and had grown to cover 84,409 acres, according to Utah Fire Info. It was first discovered on July 27, and its cause is listed as “natural”. It was still exhibiting active expansion on August 4. Fire officials noted that extreme high temperatures (over 100°F/37.8°C), gusting wind, and low humidity are expected for the next several days, creating favorable conditions for fire growth.
The Cottonwood Fire started on June 22 and experienced rapid growth, which was fueled by extremely dry fuel and weather conditions conducive to extreme fire behavior. By August 4, the fire had burned 97,464 acres and was 95 percent contained, according to Utah Fire Info. The cause is listed as “undetermined”.
Image Facts
Satellite:
Terra
Date Acquired: 8/2/2026
Resolutions:
1km (80.4 KB), 500m (280.7 KB), 250m (943.7 KB)
Bands Used: 1,4,3
Image Credit:
MODIS Land Rapid Response Team, NASA GSFC
