Elk Fire

Perimeter mapped August 21, 2026 at 10:50 AM MDT, 7,257 acres (mixed methods). Point of origin 38.124, -107.355.

Live radar at the fire Forecast for Lake City

Size

7,257 acres

Containment

73%

Discovered

July 9, 2026 at 9:46 AM MDT

Cause

Undetermined

Location

7 Miles NW from Lake City, CO

County

Hinsdale County

State

Colorado

Nearest city reported

Lake City

Protecting agency

USFS

Jurisdiction

USFS

Land ownership at origin

USFS

Personnel assigned

10

Incident management

Type 4 IC, Type 3 Incident

Primary fuel

Short Grass (1 foot)

Estimated cost to date

$28,846,472

Incident type

Wildfire

Unique fire identifier

2026-COGMF-000114

IRWIN identifier

48A23460-97E0-47B3-BDA1-BE5B747A0B24

Mapped area at the last perimeter of each day, from July 10, 2026 (12 acres) to August 23, 2026 (7,257 acres). The largest one-day growth was 1,589 acres, mapped August 6, 2026.

• Wind up to 15 mph from the south-southwest
• Relative humidity as low as 46%
• High of 53°F

National Weather Service hourly forecast for the fire’s point of origin, next 24 hours.

Full forecast for Lake City, CO

Red Flag Warnings and Fire Weather Watches covering the fire's point of origin.

No Red Flag Warning or Fire Weather Watch is in force at the fire.

NOAA’s Hazard Mapping System analysts have not drawn smoke over the fire’s origin today.

NOAA’s smoke model forecasts near-surface smoke at the origin peaking at 0.2 µg/m³ around Tue, 6:00 AM MDT over the next 48 hours.

Smoke and fire layers on the radar

• Lake City, CO7 miles south of the fire’s origin
• Ouray, CO19 miles west of the fire’s origin
• Telluride, CO28 miles southwest of the fire’s origin
• Mountain Village, CO30 miles southwest of the fire’s origin
• Gunnison, CO37 miles northeast of the fire’s origin
• Montrose, CO37 miles northwest of the fire’s origin