Columbus fires today: fire map, smoke & air quality
Active wildfires within 100 miles of Columbus, the air quality and wind right now, fire-weather alerts — and how often fires burn near Columbus.
Air quality and wind in Columbus
Fire weather alerts for Columbus
Wildfire history near Columbus
Wildfires within 50 miles, by year
Fires of 10+ acres whose origin was within 50 miles of Columbus. 2026 is still in progress.
When fires start near Columbus
Peak months: February, March, November — 82% of fires in the last 10 years started in these three months.
0 days in the last 12 months had modeled daily PM2.5 above 35.4 µg/m³ — the level where air becomes unhealthy for sensitive groups. Smoke can come from fires hundreds of miles away, so smoke days and nearby fires don't always line up.
Fire history: NIFC WFIGS incident records 2016–2026. Smoke: Open-Meteo CAMS air-quality model, 2025-10-01 to 2026-09-30. Updated 2026-10-01.
Largest wildfires near Columbus since 2015
| Fire | Acres | Year | County | From Columbus |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bear Creak Road | 835 | 2025 | Barbour, AL | 35 mi |
| Broken Arrow Plantation | 641 | 2022 | Russell, AL | 10 mi |
| Co Rd 87 Lanett | 600 | 2021 | Chambers, AL | 35 mi |
| Pond Road Fire | 522 | 2018 | Marion, GA | 20 mi |
| Shady Grove | 522 | 2026 | Russell, AL | 22 mi |
| County Road 2 | 446 | 2026 | Bullock, AL | 36 mi |
Most recent fires near Columbus
| Fire | Acres | Discovered | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shady Grove | 522 | 2026-04-28 | 22 mi |
| Troup Old Potts Road | 157 | 2026-04-19 | 36 mi |
| Indian Trail | 121 | 2026-04-14 | 12 mi |
| Lonesome Frog | 126 | 2026-03-31 | 26 mi |
| Wesley Church | 394 | 2026-03-28 | 44 mi |
Distances are straight-line from the city center to the fire's point of origin.
Fires and smoke near other cities
Questions
Is there a fire near Columbus right now?
The live map at the top of this page shows every active wildfire within 100 miles of Columbus from official incident reports, sorted by distance, with acres, containment and the last update time.
How often do wildfires burn near Columbus?
From 2016 to 2025, 55 wildfires of 10 acres or more started within 50 miles of Columbus — about 6 a year — burning 10,201 acres in total. 82% of them started in February, March and November.
What was the biggest fire near Columbus?
The Bear Creak Road Fire (2025), 835 acres, which started about 35 miles from Columbus in Barbour County.
Is the air quality in Columbus safe today?
The air-quality panel above shows the current US AQI for Columbus and a 72-hour forecast. Above 100 (orange), sensitive groups should limit time outdoors; above 150 (red), everyone should. In the last 12 months Columbus had 0 modeled smoke days.
Get fire alerts for Columbus
Save Columbus in Wildfire Tracker: distance to the nearest active fire, which side of it you're on relative to the wind, air quality — alerts only for fires that are actually active.