2026 Vilas County, Wisconsin Wildfires
Newest wildfires in Vilas County
Largest wildfires in Vilas County this season
All 2026 Vilas County Fires · 22 fires
A fire is listed here when it is located in Vilas County. Each complex is counted once, through its parent: the parent carries the complex's acres, and its member fires are listed beneath it without being counted again. A fire that crossed a county line is listed with the acres that burned in Vilas County, not its whole reported size. A fire located elsewhere that burned into Vilas County is listed too, at its Vilas County acres, and is not added to the Vilas County fire counts. County lines come from a different boundary dataset than state lines, so Vilas County's acres are counted along county lines and can differ a little at the edges from the figures on the state page.
| Fire | Start date | Containment | Status | Acres | Center | Ignition point |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| White Whale Fire | Aug 17, 2026 | — | Inactive | 11 | 45.9613, -89.2859 | 45.9611, -89.2863 |
| Swampy Fire | Apr 23, 2026 | — | Inactive | 3 | 45.9774, -89.3233 | 45.9797, -89.3236 |
| Argo Fire | May 8, 2026 | — | Inactive | 1 | 46.0827, -89.9087 | 46.0825, -89.9091 |
| County N Fire | Apr 22, 2026 | — | Inactive | 1 | 45.9908, -89.5633 | 45.9917, -89.5623 |
| Schneider Fire | Oct 7, 2026 | — | Active | 0 | 46.0064, -89.5298 | 46.0063, -89.5263 |
| Lune Island Fire | Oct 6, 2026 | — | Active | 0 | 46.1244, -89.3822 | 46.1246, -89.3817 |
| Bayer Lake Fire | Sep 11, 2026 | — | Inactive | 0 | 45.9366, -89.7218 | 45.9366, -89.7224 |
| Kentuck Fire | Aug 20, 2026 | — | Inactive | 0 | 46.0302, -89.0543 | 46.0301, -89.0548 |
| Little Pine Fire | Aug 8, 2026 | — | Inactive | 0 | 45.9812, -89.8918 | 45.9812, -89.8919 |
| Bucket Fire | Jun 2, 2026 | — | Inactive | 0 | 46.1200, -89.2830 | 46.1201, -89.2828 |
| Bearnose Fire | May 31, 2026 | — | Inactive | 0 | 46.1978, -89.4283 | 46.1928, -89.4259 |
| Placid Lake Fire | May 31, 2026 | — | Inactive | 0 | 45.9136, -89.8295 | 45.9134, -89.8294 |
| Floursheim Fire | May 30, 2026 | — | Inactive | 0 | 45.9239, -89.8079 | 45.9250, -89.8123 |
| Brandy Fire | May 30, 2026 | — | Inactive | 0 | 45.9065, -89.7074 | 45.9065, -89.7067 |
| Patterson Fire | May 26, 2026 | — | Inactive | 0 | 45.9044, -89.8590 | 45.9020, -89.8640 |
| Oak Fire | May 22, 2026 | — | Inactive | 0 | 46.1290, -89.8647 | 46.1300, -89.8627 |
| Sheep Fire | May 16, 2026 | — | Inactive | 0 | 45.9612, -89.8797 | 45.9609, -89.8804 |
| Flag Fire | May 16, 2026 | — | Inactive | 0 | 45.9437, -89.2445 | 45.9440, -89.2431 |
| Pit Fire | May 16, 2026 | — | Inactive | 0 | 46.0684, -89.5267 | 46.0684, -89.5266 |
| Enchilada Fire | May 9, 2026 | — | Inactive | 0 | 46.0047, -89.6190 | 46.0046, -89.6189 |
| Cochran Fire | Apr 23, 2026 | — | Inactive | 0 | 46.1888, -89.5239 | 46.1894, -89.5231 |
| Waters Lane Fire | Apr 21, 2026 | — | Inactive | 0 | 45.9124, -89.8694 | 45.9126, -89.8704 |
| Also burned into Vilas County | ||||||
| Townline Fire from Oneida County | May 14, 2026 | — | Inactive | 0 of 0 | 45.8982, -89.6850 | 45.8978, -89.6843 |
| Totals | 2026 Season Fires 22 | Active Fires 2 | Acres Burning 0 | 2026 Season Acres 16 | ||
Land cover · Vilas County 2026
Burned acres in Vilas County for the 2026 season, split by the kind of land that burned. Each figure counts the LANDFIRE 30 m cells inside a fire's latest mapped perimeter. The Fires tab carries the reported season acreage.
Forest ownership · Vilas County 2026
Burned forest acres in Vilas County for the 2026 season, split by who owns the land. Owners are mapped for forestland, so every figure here counts burned cells whose LANDFIRE lifeform is Tree. The Fires tab carries the season acreage this site reports.
Burn severity · Vilas County 2026
Burned acres in Vilas County for the 2026 season, split by how severely each cell of ground burned. Each figure counts the 30 m cells inside a fire's latest mapped perimeter, measured from satellite imagery. The Fires tab carries the reported season acreage.
Severity comes from the differenced normalized burn ratio (dNBR), the same index the federal burn severity programs publish, classified with the standard thresholds.
This is an initial assessment. Trees keep dying for months after a burn, so severity in forest reads conservative until the official assessments arrive after the season.