Elk Fire

Situation Summary

Automated summary generated: Oct 22, 2026 15:45 UTC. It may lag behind the report and is not an official alert.

The Elk Fire, located in Hinsdale County, Colorado, was first discovered on July 9, 2026, and is currently managed by the U.S. Forest Service. By early August, the blaze had expanded to 2,911 acres with 40% containment, but by August 12 it had surged to 7,404 acres, prompting a peak deployment of 286 personnel and an estimated cost of $18,274,051. The fire’s behavior shifted from active, uphill runs and flanking to minimal, creeping activity, and containment steadily improved from 35% to 90% by October 1, 2026, while the acreage stabilized at 7,257 acres. The incident remains active but largely contained, with minimal smoldering and single‑tree torching reported in the latest updates.

Official source description: 7 Miles NW from Lake City, CO

Recorded Fire Progression

Historical observations from incident reports, not a live forecast. Acreage and containment can decrease when agencies correct their estimates.

Latest available source report: Oct 1, 2026 19:20 UTC. This is the report date, not confirmation of current fire conditions.

Reported acreage increased by 4,346 acres between the first and last available acreage measurements. Recorded containment rose by 50.0 percentage points, from 40.0% (Aug 6, 2026) to 90.0% (Oct 1, 2026), using the first and last reports with a known containment value.

Reported changes over time

Showing 12 representative changes from 18 distinct recorded measurements, including the first and last distinct measurements. The latest source report date is shown above, even when measurements have not changed.