Electric Fire

Whatcom County, Washington · Wildfire

Active Official numbers updated Sep 16, 2026 (about 9 hours ago)

First reported about 3 weeks ago

Metric	Last report	Now	Change
Size	494 acres Sep 12, 6:00 PM	495 acres Sep 16, 4:00 AM +1 acres was 494 acres · Sep 12, 6:00 PM	+1 acres in 3 days
Containment	71% Sep 15, 7:01 PM	90% Sep 16, 4:00 AM +19 percent was 71% · Sep 15, 7:01 PM	+19 percent in about 9 hours
Crew size	51 Sep 15, 7:01 PM	50 Sep 16, 4:00 AM −1 was 51 · Sep 15, 7:01 PM	−1 in about 9 hours
Money spent	$2.4M Sep 14, 5:00 PM	$2.8M Sep 16, 4:00 AM +$359,711 was $2.4M · Sep 14, 5:00 PM	+$359,711 in 1 day

Electric Fire summary

The Electric Fire is a wildfire near Whatcom County, Washington. It has burned about 495 acres (about 375 football fields). Crews have boxed in 90% of its edge; the other 10% isn't contained yet. It was first reported about 3 weeks ago. About 50 people are on it, run by a Type 3 Team. We're also tracking 8 other active fires within about 75 miles.

Size: 495 acres
Containment: 90%
Discovered: August 23, 2026 (first reported about 3 weeks ago)
Cause: Not reported

The size and containment above are current as of Wednesday, September 16th at 4:00 a.m. CDT.

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Weather & fire-spread conditions

No Red Flag Warning. The National Weather Service hasn't flagged this area for dangerous fire-spread conditions right now.

Hot, dry, and windy weather can help a fire grow; cool, calm, or wet weather helps crews. The tags below rate each day for fire spread — green is calm, red can push a fire.

A general fire-weather guide (wind matters most, then how dry it is, then heat), not a prediction of what this fire will do.

Overnight

51°F · Mostly Clear

Wind 6 mph N · 0% chance of rain

Wind: Calm Heat: Cool Dry

Wednesday

78°F · Sunny

Wind 2 to 7 mph E · 0% chance of rain

Wind: Calm Heat: Warm Dry

Wednesday Night

55°F · Clear

Wind 2 to 8 mph NNE · 0% chance of rain

Wind: Calm Heat: Cool Dry

Thursday

80°F · Sunny

Wind 6 mph ESE · 0% chance of rain

Wind: Calm Heat: Warm Dry

Thursday Night

54°F · Mostly Clear

Wind 2 to 6 mph ESE · 0% chance of rain

Wind: Calm Heat: Cool Dry

Forecast from the National Weather Service (weather.gov), pulled Wednesday, September 16th at 4:01 a.m. CDT.

Could this fire move fast?

Weather isn't the only thing that changes how a fire moves. The ground matters too: how steep it is, and what's growing on it. These four numbers are for the exact spot where this fire started, not the whole fire. A big fire crosses a lot of different ground.

43° slope

Fire usually moves faster uphill than downhill. Heat and flame lean uphill, drying out the ground above the fire before it gets there.

Trees with brush underneath (TU5)

Heavy forest litter with shrubs or small trees underneath, in a dry climate. Fire moves at a moderate pace, with medium-height flames.

75% tree canopy cover

The more tree cover above a fire, the easier it is for the fire to climb from the ground into the treetops. That's called a crown fire. Crown fires move faster, throw embers farther ahead of the fire, and are harder for crews to stop head-on.

1,337 ft elevation

Elevation by itself doesn't make a fire more or less dangerous. But it shapes the other three numbers here: what grows there, how dry things get, and what the weather does.

Elevation and slope from the USGS 3D Elevation Program; fuel type and canopy cover from LANDFIRE (USGS and U.S. Forest Service), pulled Thursday, September 10th at 3:55 p.m. CDT.

Who's on it

About 50 people are assigned to this fire, run by a Type 3 Team. The government rates it a Type 3 Incident. About $3 million has been spent on it so far.

The official feed reports the total headcount, not a breakdown by crew type.