Chalk Mountain Fire

Carbon County, Wyoming · Wildfire

Active Official numbers updated Oct 6, 2026 (4 days ago)

First reported about 7 weeks ago

Metric	Last report	Now	Change
Size	100 acres Aug 27, 9:00 AM	124 acres Oct 11, 12:00 AM +24 acres was 100 acres · Aug 27, 9:00 AM	+24 acres in about 1 month
Containment	75% Aug 28, 5:00 PM	91% Oct 11, 12:00 AM +16 percent was 75% · Aug 28, 5:00 PM	+16 percent in about 1 month
Crew size	35 Aug 28, 5:00 PM	30 Oct 11, 12:00 AM −5 was 35 · Aug 28, 5:00 PM	−5 in about 1 month
Money spent	—	$300,000 Oct 11, 12:00 AM	—

Chalk Mountain Fire summary

The Chalk Mountain Fire is a wildfire near Carbon County, Wyoming. It has burned about 124 acres (about 94 football fields). Crews have boxed in 91% of its edge; the other 9% isn't contained yet. It was first reported about 7 weeks ago. About 30 people are on it, run by a Type 4 IC. We're also tracking 3 other active fires within about 75 miles.

Size: 124 acres
Containment: 91%
Discovered: August 26, 2026 (first reported about 7 weeks ago)
Cause: Not reported

The size and containment above are current as of Sunday, October 11th at 12:00 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 a specific fire will do.

	Day	Night
Tonight	—	50°F · Chance Rain Showers Wind 20 to 25 mph SW · 33% rain Wind: Windy Heat: Cool Some rain
Sunday	62°F · Chance Rain Showers Wind 15 to 25 mph SSW · 51% rain Wind: Windy Heat: Cool Rain likely	50°F · Showers And Thunderstorms Likely then Mostly Cloudy Wind 15 to 30 mph SSW · 60% rain Wind: High wind Heat: Cool Rain likely
Columbus Day	59°F · Mostly Sunny Wind 15 to 30 mph SW · 8% rain Wind: High wind Heat: Cool Dry	42°F · Rain Showers Likely Wind 10 to 15 mph SSW · 60% rain Wind: Breezy Heat: Cool Rain likely

Forecast from the National Weather Service (weather.gov), pulled Sunday, October 11th at 12:02 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.

24° slope

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

Grass and shrub (GS2)

Grass with shrubs 1 to 3 feet tall. Fire moves fast, with medium-height flames.

0% 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.

7,568 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 3:59 p.m. CDT.

Who's on it

About 30 people are assigned to this fire, run by a Type 4 IC. About $300,000 has been spent on it so far.

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

Where to get live updates

We show the daily official picture. For minute-by-minute updates, evacuation orders, and maps, these do it best:

→ Watch Duty: real-time fire reporting and evacuations.
→ InciWeb: the government's official fire information site.

Nearby fires to Chalk Mountain Fire

Within about 75 miles we're tracking 3 other active fires, closest first:

See all active fires in Wyoming →

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