Willow Fire
The Willow Fire was reported on June 28, 2026 in Lake County, Colorado and has burned 7,389 acres. It is 80 percent contained. The cause is listed as human.
- Size
- 7,389 acres
- Contained
- 80%
- Discovered
- June 28, 2026
- Personnel
- 7
Map
Perimeter mapped July 20, 2026 at 9:41 PM MDT, 7,259 acres (mixed methods). Point of origin 39.234, -106.440.
The incident
- Size
- 7,389 acres
- Containment
- 80%
- Discovered
- June 28, 2026 at 3:27 PM MDT
- Cause
- Human
- Location
- 6 Miles W from Leadville, CO
- County
- Lake County
- State
- Colorado
- Nearest city reported
- Leadville
- Protecting agency
- USFS
- Jurisdiction
- USFS
- Land ownership at origin
- USFS
- Personnel assigned
- 7
- Incident management
- Type 4 IC, Type 4 Incident
- Primary fuel
- Timber (Grass and Understory)
- Estimated cost to date
- $37,000,000
- Incident type
- Wildfire
- Unique fire identifier
- 2026-COPSF-001153
- IRWIN identifier
- 548A8D28-1A04-48EE-9011-ABA023175D43
Growth
Mapped area at the last perimeter of each day, from June 28, 2026 (1,066 acres) to September 16, 2026 (7,259 acres). The largest one-day growth was 896 acres, mapped July 5, 2026.
| Day | Acres | Change |
|---|---|---|
| June 28, 2026 | 1,066 | |
| June 29, 2026 | 1,919 | +853 |
| June 30, 2026 | 2,011 | +92 |
| July 1, 2026 | 2,131 | +120 |
| July 2, 2026 | 2,541 | +410 |
| July 3, 2026 | 2,969 | +428 |
| July 4, 2026 | 3,090 | +121 |
| July 5, 2026 | 3,987 | +897 |
| July 6, 2026 | 4,150 | +163 |
| July 7, 2026 | 4,333 | +183 |
| July 8, 2026 | 4,364 | +31 |
| July 9, 2026 | 4,466 | +102 |
| July 10, 2026 | 5,287 | +821 |
| July 11, 2026 | 5,793 | +506 |
| July 12, 2026 | 6,239 | +446 |
| July 13, 2026 | 6,408 | +169 |
| July 14, 2026 | 6,539 | +131 |
| July 15, 2026 | 6,861 | +322 |
| July 16, 2026 | 6,877 | +16 |
| July 17, 2026 | 6,967 | +90 |
| July 18, 2026 | 7,103 | +136 |
| July 19, 2026 | 7,158 | +55 |
| July 20, 2026 | 7,181 | +23 |
| July 21, 2026 | 7,196 | +15 |
| July 22, 2026 | 7,196 | 0 |
| July 23, 2026 | 7,196 | 0 |
| July 24, 2026 | 7,196 | 0 |
| September 16, 2026 | 7,259 | +63 |
Weather at the fire
- Wind up to 10 mph from the west-northwest
- Relative humidity as low as 26%
- High of 54°F
National Weather Service hourly forecast for the fire’s point of origin, next 24 hours.
Alerts in force
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.
Smoke
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 0.5 µg/m³ around Mon, 11:00 AM MDT over the next 48 hours.
Nearby
Colorado wildfires today Wildfires of 2026 All current fires
Incident record from the National Interagency Fire Center’s Wildland Fire Interagency Geospatial Services (WFIGS), as the incident’s managers report it; last updated September 20, 2026 at 5:29 PM MDT. Identifier 2026-COPSF-001153.