08/22/2025
Red Canyon Fire Information
We understand how important grazing is to this community, and we know that changes in acreage matter. Today’s reported size of the shows a decrease of nearly 2,000 acres compared to yesterday. This reduction is not from fire activity but from more accurate mapping as fire managers continue to refine the perimeter with better data.
Crews are using a combination of day and night infrared flights, low-altitude reconnaissance, and firefighter ground reports to determine where the fire has stopped progression. In desert fuels like sagebrush, juniper, grass, and cheatgrass, fire burns quickly and intensely under sun and wind, often cooling shortly after nightfall. This makes night infrared flights less reliable, since cooled areas don’t show heat, while daytime infrared flights may overestimate burned acreage when rocks or bare soil radiate heat.
By pairing high-tech equipment with boots on the ground—what firefighters call “ground-truthing”—fire managers are creating the most accurate maps possible. Multiple day and night flights over the past several shifts have given a clearer picture, and crews have been able to confirm firing operations in Div. H, where smoke and convective heat previously limited visibility. Firefighters also tied in a dozer line, cutting off the southern section of Pack Saddle Road that had been used as a holding feature. This contributed to the adjusted acreage.
Thank you for your patience as we balance technology with firefighter expertise. Each refinement gives the community a clearer picture of the Red Canyon Fire’s true footprint on the landscape. The goal is keeping the fire footprint as small as possible to protect grazing.
Photo of zoomed in portion of the map on Div. H showing fire perimeter area where acreage was adjusted along Reck Rd.
