Willow Fire

Lake County, Colorado · Wildfire

Started inside the Pike and San Isabel National Forests boundary.

Active Official numbers updated Oct 15, 2026 (3 days ago)

First reported about 4 months ago

Metric	Last report	Now	Change
Size	7,389 acres Sep 28, 4:00 PM	7,359 acres Oct 18, 10:00 AM −30 acres was 7,389 acres · Sep 28, 4:00 PM	−30 acres in 20 days
Containment	80% Oct 13, 4:00 PM	92% Oct 18, 10:00 AM +12 percent was 80% · Oct 13, 4:00 PM	+12 percent in 5 days
Crew size	3 Oct 15, 11:00 AM	2 Oct 18, 10:00 AM −1 was 3 · Oct 15, 11:00 AM	−1 in 3 days
Money spent	$36.6M Aug 17, 11:00 AM	$37.0M Oct 18, 10:00 AM +$400,965 was $36.6M · Aug 17, 11:00 AM	+$400,965 in 2 months

Willow Fire summary

The Willow Fire is a wildfire near Lake County, Colorado. It has burned about 7,359 acres (about 6,000 football fields). Crews have boxed in 92% of its edge; the other 8% isn't contained yet. It was first reported about 4 months ago. About 2 people are on it, run by a Type 5 IC. We're also tracking 2 other active fires within about 75 miles.

Size: 7,359 acres
Containment: 92%
Discovered: June 28, 2026 (first reported about 4 months ago)
Cause: Not reported

The size and containment above are current as of Sunday, October 18th at 10:00 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
Today	44°F · Mostly Sunny Wind 5 to 10 mph W · 4% rain Wind: Breezy Heat: Cool Dry	27°F · Mostly Cloudy Wind 5 to 10 mph S · 8% rain Wind: Breezy Heat: Cool Dry
Monday	40°F · Chance Snow Showers Wind 5 to 10 mph SSW · 33% rain Wind: Breezy Heat: Cool Some rain	26°F · Chance Snow Showers then Mostly Cloudy Wind 5 mph SW · 34% rain Wind: Calm Heat: Cool Some rain
Tuesday	41°F · Mostly Sunny then Slight Chance Snow Showers Wind 5 to 10 mph WSW · 18% rain Wind: Breezy Heat: Cool Dry	—

Forecast from the National Weather Service (weather.gov), pulled Sunday, October 18th at 10:00 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.

33° slope

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

Not wildfire fuel (NB2)

Snow or ice. Not a wildland fuel.

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.

14,366 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 4:06 p.m. CDT.

Who's on it

About 2 people are assigned to this fire, run by a Type 5 IC. The government rates it a Type 4 Incident. About $37 million 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 Willow Fire

Within about 75 miles we're tracking 2 other active fires, closest first:

See all active fires in Colorado →

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