The 2026 Oregon wildfire season is a ongoing and severe wildfire season that is primarily affecting central, north and Eastern Oregon. According to officials, they anticipated this season would potentially have been severe. In Southern Oregon, restrictions in Jackson County and Josephine County were initiated with the start of the fire season in May 2026, with it quickly escalating into a major lightning sparked wildfire event by July.

Background

"Fire season" in Oregon typically begins in mid-May and ends with the first rains that normally begins in late September. Drought, snowpack levels, and local weather conditions play a role in Oregon's fire season, particularly in Eastern and Southwest Oregon. During peak fire season from July to September, most wildfires are caused by lightning, while ignitions in the early and later parts of the season are related to humans. Warm, dry conditions in summer heighten the wildfire risk. After over 100 years of fire suppression and prevention of all fires, there is now an abundance of fuel. Climate change is leading to a reduced snowpack with an earlier and reduced snowmelt, so there is a higher risk for areas that receive wildfires.

By July of 2026, despite a relatively slow start to the season, thousands of lightning strikes sparked numerous wildfires that expanded across north central Oregon, with many prompting immediate evacuations for areas many miles wide and catching firefighters off guard by the sudden and dramatic increase in activity, especially in Wheeler, Gilliam and Baker counties. Two major wildfire complexes occurred after most of the major wildfires merged, especially into the Crosswhite fire which quickly burned passed 100,000 acres. This fire was a part of the Rowe Creek Complex, and the Hay Creek Complex, a little farther north, also contained several large and rapidly growing fires due to extremely dry conditions and an ongoing heatwave. multiple west coast task forces and the national guard were deployed to help fight these fires and other fires to the south, north, and east that were also showing significant growth. Smoke from all of these wildfires contributed to widespread very unhealthy air quality, with the entire state having the worst air quality in the United States for a prolonged period, along with air quality advisories being issued. The Crosswhite fire also merged with the 28,000 acre Box Springs fire on July 28, bringing its total past 170,000 acres, as crews continued to battle extreme fire weather conditions, primarily in the form of widespread Red Flag warnings and more lightning storms sparking even more wildfires across the state, as over 2,000 Lightning strikes occurred in a time frame of only a few hours.

In the beginning of August, the National Interagency Fire Center and Oregon Department of Forestry were both reporting that the season-to-date cumulative wildfire acreage was over two million acres, making 2026 the state's most active wildfire season. This surpassed the previous record, set in 2024, when just over 2 million acres burned in Oregon.https://katu.com/news/local/wildland-firefighters-weekend-extreme-fire-conditions-oregon-record-season-northwest-interagency-coordination-center-nwcc-oregon-department-of-forestry

List of wildfires

The following is a list of fires that burned more than , or produced significant structural damage or casualties. NameCountyAcresStart dateContainment dateNotesPine MountainDeschutesStarted from an escaped prescribed burn. Burned southeast of Bend.ZenWascoBurned south of Clarno.FrontageBakerUndetermined cause. Burned near Huntington. Prompted evacuations for Farewell Bend State Park and closed Interstate 84 and U.S. 30.UnknownUmatillaBurned in Umatilla. Destroyed one home, five outbuildings, and several vehicles.Old EmigrantUmatillaPrompted Level 2 evacuations north of Interstate 84 south of Mission.BasinMalheurLightning-caused. Burned southeast of U.S. 95, south of Rome.Dry CreekMalheurBurned south of Rome.UnknownUmatillaBurning in Milton-Freewater.LytleMalheurBurned south of Vale.Antelope CreekWascoCause under investigation. Burned north of Antelope and prompted evacuation orders.North CayuseUmatillaBurned near Adams and prompted evacuations.SalmonBaker, GrantLightning-caused. Includes the Greenhorn Fire. Burning west of Greenhorn and prompting evacuations. Injured two firefighters.Olive ButteGrantLightning-caused. Burning in Sumpter and prompting evacuations.AnthonyBakerLightning-caused. Burning in the Elkhorn Mountains and prompting evacuations.East Evans CreekJacksonBurning northeast of Rogue River and prompting evacuations.Lower Dry CreekUmatillaBurned near Weston prompting evacuation of the entire city. One home and multiple structures have been lost. The fire has closed down highways 11 and 204, and cut power to the City of Athena.Hay Creek ComplexGilliam, Sherman, Wasco, WheelerLightning-caused complex comprising the Hopkin, Porcupine Ridge, Hoag, Little Buck, and Cottonwood fires. The Hoag and Cottonwood fires to the north merged, while in the south the Little Buck and Porcupine Ridge fires merged, nearly merging with the Crosswhite East fire at the John Day River near the John Day Fossil Beds National Monument - Clarno Unit.Rowe Creek ComplexCrook, Jefferson, Wasco, WheelerComplex of multiple lightning-caused fires, prompting widespread evacuations for a large region of central Oregon. Though also including the Camel Hump and Deep Canyon fires, it comprises primarily the Crosswhite East fire, which merged with the Pats Cabin, Cove Creek, and 059 fires on July 19, Box Springs fire on July 23, and Green Mountain and Brewer fires on July 27. The area where the Crosswhite East, Green Mountain, and Brewer fires is managed as the Rowe Creek Complex - West Zone. Overall, the Rowe Creek Complex burned a majority of the land in the John Day Fossil Beds National Monument. 1 fatality from the Brewer fire.https://app.watchduty.org/i/109616Akawa ButteJeffersonLightning-caused. Burning southwest of Lake Billy Chinook and prompting evacuations, moving to the south and west. It destroyed two homes, including the stone house at Wildhaven Preserve. https://inciweb.wildfire.gov/incident-information/or95s-akawa-butte-fireCoyoteCrookLightning-caused. Burning south of Post. Prompting evacuations and threatening structures.ParadiseUmatilla, Wallowa, Columbia (WA), Walla Walla (WA)Lightning-caused. Burning on the border of Washington in the Umatilla National Forest.https://app.watchduty.org/i/108934HenryCrookBurning south of Paulina.Powder RiverBakerBurning west of the Powder River and threatening structures.EgyptHarneyLightning-caused. Burning north of Riley.HagenUmatilla & UnionBurning east of Gibbon. Prompting evacuations. BolognaGrantBurning northwest of Monument.Burnt CreekWallowaLightning-caused. Burning north of Enterprise.Cow Camp ComplexMalheurIncluded eight individual fires. Burned north of Brogan.CastleDouglasLikely lightning-caused. Burning northwest of Crater Lake National Park.Ten MileJefferson, WascoBurned and caused evacuations along Route 97.Big GrassMalheur, Owyhee (ID)Burning southeast of Jordan Valley. Largest wildfire in Oregon history, though partially burning in Owyhee County, Idaho.https://app.watchduty.org/i/110594StubbleHarneyBurning south of Malheur Lake and prompting evacuations.CrowleyMalheurBurned in Harper.ShingleBakerLightning-caused. Burning southeast of Mitchell and prompting evacuations.BenchJeffersonBurning southwest of Warm Springs and prompting evacuations. Merged with the Beachcomb Fire on July 26.GrasshopperHood River, WascoBurning east of Government Camp and prompting evacuations around Mount Hood and Pine Hollow.https://app.watchduty.org/i/110721Bald MountainHarney, MalheurBurning across the Stonehouse Wilderness Study Area.FoxBakerBurning in Huntington and prompting evacuations. Reached the Powder River Fire burn scar on July 30. The fire destroyed 3 homes, and Huntington Fire Chief Eric Bronson was injured while fighting the fire. https://app.watchduty.org/i/110718HatMalheurBurning east of Hat Butte.Jackass ButteHarneyBurning on Jackass Mountain.Second FlatHarneyBurning north of U.S. 20 and prompting evacuations in around the city of Burns.Coleman CreekHarney, MalheurBurning in the vicinity of Warm Springs Reservoir and threatened the town of Juntura.EggoWallowaLikely lightning-caused.https://fires.cornea.is/fire/oregon_eggo_2026-08-02-002803Round ButteJeffersonPrompted some evacuations near Madras.Wrights SpringKlamathBurning north of Klamath Falls.https://app.watchduty.org/i/113237AustinClackamasBurning in the Mt. Hood National Forest.https://app.watchduty.org/i/113822Picture RockLake CountyNorth of Summer Lake.https://www.facebook.com/SCOFMPFIREINFO/videos/picture-rock-fire-313-morning-update-for-08212026quick-factsfire-size-1228-acres/1052363814198839/

See also

2026 California wildfires 2026 United States wildfires Wildfires in 2026

Notes

References