This website works best with a newer web browser such as Chrome, Firefox, Safari or Microsoft Edge. Internet Explorer is not supported by this website.

CIMSS Satellite Blog

MENU

Cram Fire in Oregon

By Scott Bachmeier •

1-minute GOES-18 GeoColor RGB images with an overlay of NGFS Fire Detection polygons, from 1400 UTC on 14 July to 0200 UTC on 15 July [click to play MP4 animation]

1-minute Mesoscale Domain Sector GOES-18 (GOES-West) GeoColor RGB images with an overlay of Next Generation Fire System (NGFS) Fire Detection polygons (above) showed the rapid growth of the Cram Fire in central Oregon during the day on 14 July 2025. Strong westerly winds helped to transport a dense veil of smoke eastward. This wildfire had started on the previous day, but exhibited extreme behavior on 14 July — growing to 10000 acres, and forcing some evacuation orders to be issued.

1-minute GOES-18 Visible images with an overlay of the FDCA Fire Mask derived product (below) also displayed the large thermal signature of the Cram Fire as it burned in the vicinity of the Wasco/Jefferson County line. Data from RAWS sites showed that winds just northeast of the fire were gusting as high as 40 mph at 2300 UTC.

1-minute GOES-18 Visible images with an overlay of the Fire Mask derived product, from 1401 UTC on 14 July to 0300 UTC on 15 July; highways are plotted in violet [click to play MP4 animation]

An overpass of Landsat-9 provided a 30-meter resolution image of the Cram Fire at 1844 UTC on 14 July, viewed using RealEarth (below). The active fire front appeared as brighter shades of pink, with the burn scar exhibiting darker shades of orange-brown.

Landsat-9 Natural Color RGB image at 1844 UTC on 14 July [click to enlarge]

Several hours after sunset, a NOAA-20 VIIRS Day/Night Band image (below) displayed the bright nighttime glow of the Cram Fire (located between Antelope and Madras)  — both the northern and southern periphery of the wildfire were still actively burning at that time.

NOAA-20 (mislabeled as NPP) VIIRS Day/Night Band image at 0916 UTC on 15 July [click to enlarge]

===== 15 July Update =====

5-minute GOES-18 GeoColor RGB images with an overlay of NGFS Fire Detection polygons, from 1401 UTC on 15 July to 0226 UTC on 16 July [click to play MP4 animation]

After the overnight southward passage of a cold front, a transition to north-northeast winds began to transport dense wildfire smoke southwestward and southward on 15 July (above) — with this smoke occasionally reducing the surface visibility to 4 miles at Madras and 1.75 miles at Redmond. The Cram Fire continued its trend of very rapid growth, burning an area over 28000 acres by late morning, increasing to over 64000 acres by the end of the day; evacuation orders were expanded as a result. In addition, Highway 97 near Willowdale was briefly closed early in the day, due to the close proximity of the fire (and its dense smoke creating hazardous driving conditions).

With RAWS sites surrounding the fire reporting N-NE wind gusts in the 25-30 mph range, the GOES-18 Fire Mask (below) showed that most of the burning activity shifted to the southern flank of the Cram Fire as the day progressed. The large burn scar exhibited darker shades of gray in the Visible imagery.

5-minute GOES-18 Visible images with an overlay of the Fire Mask derived product, from 1401 UTC on 15 July to 0301 UTC on 16 July; highways are plotted in violet [click to play MP4 animation]

A toggle between NOAA-20 VIIRS Day/Night Band images during the post-sunset nighttime hours on 15 July and 16 July (below) showed a notable south-southwestward shift in the larger, more active fire front along the Cram Fire southern perimeter.

NOAA-20 (mislabeled as NPP) VIIRS Day/Night Band images at 0916 UTC on 15 July and 1038 UTC on 16 July [click to enlarge]

Categories: Air quality, Fire detection, GOES-18, Landsat, NGFS, NOAA-20, RealEarth, Red-Green-Blue (RGB) images, VIIRS