North of Reno along Highway 395, the Bug Fire ignited near the agricultural inspection station and has since merged with the Fred Fire, with the Stallion Fire burning farther north toward Pyramid Lake. Scroll down for updates on fires in the Pacific Northwest! Current Situation The Bug–Fred portion: Initially ran hard to the east under … Read more
This report looks at the current conditions and expected fire behavior on the Timber Fire, in Big Sur, California. In the video, below, we use our trademark style of live mapping and storytelling to examine how wildfire works in Big Sur’s mishmash of unique environments, and how the terrain, fuels, and weather affect options for … Read more
Western Fire Season Enters Relentless Phase as New Incidents Erupt from Big Sur to the North Cascades The Western fire season has shifted into a fuel‑driven, landscape‑scale phase, with emerging and established fires stretching from California’s Big Sur coast through the Klamath River region, Eastern Oregon, and deep into Washington’s North Cascades. In our latest … Read more
Good morning. Today is August 8, 2006, and we’re reporting on fires in the Pacific Northwest. Yesterday was a deadly day for firefighters in the American West. Two helicopter pilots died on the Widemouth 2 Fire in Central Utah, and a dozer operator died the night before last, during a blowup on the Wrights Spring … Read more
The Grasshopper Fire spreads steadily toward Mount Hood, the Brewer/Box Springs Fires resist indirect attack, two fires that have been smouldering for weeks are cranking, now, and the well-established fires in North-Central Washington are mainly contained or not spreading much, with exception of Sinlahekin and Little Giant. We forgot to cover the emerging Wright’s Spring … Read more
This livestream walks through why the Pacific Northwest saw a relative slowdown in fire activity after an extremely active day on the 1st, and what the sudden shift in fire behavior reveals about weather, fuels, and urban wildfire risk. Watch the Lookout Livestream, here, or scroll down to read it. Weather Pattern: A Needed Breather … Read more
In tonight’s Lookout Livestream, we review maps and intel for the Pacific Northwest to try to get a handle on which fires might have the greatest potential for radical spread with tomorrow’s forecast for extreme fire spread weather conditions. Any fire which is currently still active has potential, but the following ones stand out: The … Read more
Here are some maps from last night’s infrared flight of the Evans Creek Fire, north of Central Point/Medford, Oregon. In the past 24 hours, the main fire backed down to the 34-3-3.2 Road on the SW. It didn’t spread much to the north. The larger spot fire to the east (Board Mtn) made a significant … Read more
Colorado wildfires see a welcome lull after days of explosive growth, with fire behavior moderating across the state and in neighboring regions. In this evening’s briefing, fire analyst and mapping specialist Zeke Lunder walks through a landscape that is still dangerous, but clearly less volatile than it has been during the last three broadcasts. High … Read more
Recorded July 3, 2026 – “Colorado Tactics” Lookout Livestream In this livestream, Lookout wildfire analyst and mapping specialist Zeke Lunder walks through a series of large ongoing fires in Colorado, Utah, and Arizona, using current perimeters and high‑resolution terrain models to explain what firefighters can and cannot realistically do to control wildfire burning under today’s … Read more
By The Lookout Recorded: July 2, 2026 – Morning Livestream Hot, dry, windy weather is driving rapid growth on multiple fires across Colorado, Utah, and New Mexico, with limited safe options for direct attack. Some blazes appear to be burning through areas that have recently been “treated” for fuels reduction, but remain highly flammable, due … Read more
Write-up based on a AI-generated summary of the 7/1/2026 Lookout Livestream Colorado Goes Off: Extreme Fire Behavior Grips the Rockies and Beyond On July 1, 2026, Colorado and parts of the interior West experienced explosive wildfire behavior under what veteran fire analyst Zeke Lunder described as “apocalyptic weather coupled with apocalyptic fuels.” From the Aspen … Read more
This is a good one! Colorado’s Critical Fire Week: Aspen Acres, Gold Mountain, Willow, Snyder & More Livestream recap and analysis from The Lookout – June 29, 2026 AI-generated summary of the Livestream, edited by Zeke Lunder, wildfire analyst and founder of The Lookout Big-Picture Setup: Why Colorado Is Flaring Up Now As of June … Read more
This Lookout Livestream provides an update on Utah Wildfires for 6/29/2026 AI Summary of Lookout Livestream, edited by Zeke Cottonwood Fire (Utah) The Cottonwood Fire has largely quieted down after several active days earlier in the week. According to weather data from the Cottonwood Mountain station, strong nighttime humidity recovery (coupled with an easing of … Read more
Note: This article is based upon an AI-generated summary of today’s Lookout Livestream. It has been edited and proof-read by a human. Watch the Livestream, here: Western U.S. Wildfires Surge Under Powerful Southwest Winds; Three Firefighters Killed in Colorado Strong southwest winds and critically dry conditions across the interior West have driven explosive wildfire growth … Read more
In this Lookout Livestream, we discuss the Cottonwood fire in Utah, highlighting its current (Lookout estimate) size of over 90,000 acres and potential expansion to well over 100,000 acres. The fire, burning in the Tushar Mountains of SW Utah, has been active on the northwest and south flanks, with significant runs driven by southwest winds. … Read more
This Lookout Livestream reviews recent behavior of the Cottonwood Fire in Utah—its big run up Beaver River through Copes Basin and Eagle Point Resort, current lull due to higher humidity, and potential for major spread in the coming days/weeks. We also use predictive fire spread modeling tools from the Pyregence Project to evaluate potential long-term … Read more
Join Lookout Host Zeke Lunder and the First Rain crew on a late-season prescribed burn in Nevada County’s high-risk wildland–urban interface. We break down real-time decisions on firing patterns, smoke, wind, and tricky mining topography while trying to reduce dangerous fuels without torching the overstory. If you geek out on prescribed fire, fuel loads, and … Read more
On January 16, 2026, the Butte Prescribed Burn Association conducted a landowner burn in Forest Ranch, with about 30 participants from various organizations. The burn area, which had been previously thinned, was covered in a layer of pine needles, oak leaves, and twigs. This video is about the importance of community involvement and cooperative efforts … Read more
We got a chance to go out and look at Cal Fire Butte Unit’s 400+ acre Phoenix Prescribed Burn yesterday. This project is intended to reduce fuels and increase the likelihood of containing new large fires in a very high-hazard and strategic location, east of Oroville, California. Project Coordinator, Matt Brady, walks us through this … Read more
Plenty of terrible political news out there, today, but if you want to hear two people who thought the other person was full of sh!t on Facebook have a conversation in real life, check out our latest interview. Frank Carroll came onto the Lookout Livestream and discussed the evolution of wildfire policy since 2009, emphasizing … Read more
The Garnet Fire continues to gobble acres, but the weather is cooling down a bit, and shortly, the fire will run out of mountains to run to the top of. Tonight’s Lookout Livestream tracks today’s developments on the fire. We also talk about the Blue and Dillon Fires, and how tactics that look easy on … Read more
The Garnet Fire has gobbled about 20 square miles in the past 12 hours. We’ll catch you up on where this new growth is happening. Below, we also have the second half of this livestream, which is focused more on forestry. We split them up so the good forestry info wouldn’t get burned in the … Read more
We’ve been reporting on how the Garnet Fire, burning on the Sierra National Forest east of Fresno, has been spreading into a large area of old-growth forest in the Teakettle Experimental Forest. The Climate & Wildfire Institute, a think tank with connections to UCLA, got about $5.4 million from the California Climate Investments (CCI) fund … Read more
Though our semi-daily Lookout Livestreams usually are focused on current developments on active fires, we end up covering a lot of broader wildland firefighting, forestry, and prescribed fire topics. This episode uses the ongoing Garnet and Dillon Fires to illustrate indirect attack tactics – the practice of preparing firelines well in advance of the fire’s … Read more
Zeke Lunder provided a detailed update on the Garnet Fire, noting its progression and the potential for it to be contained. He discussed the impact of recent rains and the fire’s activity near the Tea Kettle Experimental Forest, where a carbon-focused forestry project just got nuked. Lunder also covered other fires in California, including the … Read more
Zeke Lunder discussed the Root Fire, which was taken off Mount Shasta, and its potential impact on the surrounding area. The fire, started in a clear-cut on private land, is expected to spread north towards Lake Siskiyou, driven by unstable weather conditions and strong winds. The area hasn’t had fire for over 100 years, leading … Read more
We did a 3-hour livestream today covering fresh intel for the emerging Coyote Fire, in Southern El Dorado County. The fire started around 3pm. Fire location at 10:30 pm, 8/20/2025: The Coyote Fire, located in El Dorado County, started within the last hour and is burning in a remote area with significant structures nearby. The … Read more
UPDATED 10:30pm, 8/13/2025 Firing operations have been underway on the north end of the Gifford Fire, east of San Luis Obispo, California, in some fashion or another for about 36 hours. This afternoon the fire did what it wanted, with all of that energy, and has pushed over primary firelines in a couple spots. We … Read more
