A smoke plume from the Grasshopper Fire, which ignited on July 23 and has largely burned in the Badger Creek Wilderness, rises far above the hills ensconcing the Hood River Valley on July 30, as seen from the Underwood Overlook.
Local residents gathered in South Wasco County High School’s cafeteria late on July 31 for a meeting about progress on the Grasshopper Fire, which included updates and statements of support from personnel with the Wasco County Sheriff’s Office, Oregon State Fire Marshal, Oregon Department of Forestry, United States Forest Service and California Interagency Management Team 6.
Smoke envelops the Flag Point Lookout on July 31. The site, which has been used to spot wildfires in the Mt. Hood National Forest since 1924, burned down last Saturday.
Photo courtesy of the United States Forest Service
Mount Hood Meadows, Tamawanas Falls and a large swath of southeast Hood River County under Level 3 evacuation orders as winds push the Grasshopper Fire east
WASCO & HOOD RIVER COS. — Between Sunday night and Monday night, the Grasshopper Fire grew by just over 3,000 acres as winds shifted from west to east, triggering new evacuation orders in Hood River County.
As of Tuesday morning, the lightning-caused blaze was 34,659 acres in size and 19% contained. While Pine Hollow, Sportmans Park and Wamic all saw their evacuation orders reduced from Level 3 to Level 2 yesterday afternoon, “Go Now” orders are active on both sides of Highway 35, including at Mount Hood Meadows.
On the east side of the highway, orders stretch from Forest Road 44 down to the county’s southeast corner, encompassing Badger Butte, Bennett Pass, and Lookout Mountain. Orders for the west side begin where Cooper Spur Road intersects with Highway 35 and continue south to milepost 63, covering Elk Mountain, Tamawanas Falls and Hood River Meadows as well.
"Crews will continue efforts in the northwest to address increased fire activity and reinforce contingency features ahead of anticipated weather,” reads an operational update from this morning. "Increased fire activity may impact the Highway 35 corridor."
The National Weather Service has issued a Red Flag warning for the western Columbia Gorge from this afternoon through Wednesday evening, anticipating dry conditions and easterly winds up to 38 miles per hour.
White River, Mill Creek Buttes and a large section of Cooper Spur Road, including Cooper Spur Ski Resort, are under Level 2 “Be Set” evacuation orders. The Level 1 zone stops just short of Parkdale proper.
For a map of Hood River County’s evacuation orders, click here. Active orders in Wasco County can be found here.
Additionally, Oregon’s Department of Environmental Quality has issued an air quality advisory for southern Wasco County, in effect until rescinded, and current readings show that air quality is unhealthy across Hood River County.
California Interagency Management Team 6 and the Oregon State Fire Marshal are jointly managing the Grasshopper Fire, with 1,264 personnel on scene this morning. Alongside efforts closer to Highway 35, crews will continue to reinforce containment lines along the fire’s southern edge and further bolster preparations in the Jordan Creek area to hold the northern perimeter.
Despite losing the Flag Point Lookout, crews successfully navigated a blustery Red Flag period on Saturday and saw containment numbers increase Monday morning
A smoke plume from the Grasshopper Fire, which ignited on July 23 and has largely burned in the Badger Creek Wilderness, rises far above the hills ensconcing the Hood River Valley on July 30, as seen from the Underwood Overlook.
Nathan Wilson photo
WASCO CO. — After a significant test this weekend, the Grasshopper Fire, burning just north of Pine Hollow, Sportsmans Park and Wamic, grew, but only slightly, and crews are hopeful that it represents a turning point.
“If we keep holding like we’ve seen here, we’re trending in a really positive direction,” said Andrew Freeborn, public information officer for California Interagency Management Team 6, during an Aug. 2 interview. “We’re not out of the woods yet, but it feels like we’re about to get some reward and get some containment numbers boosted up from all the hard work that’s been done.”
And they did. As of press deadline on Monday morning, the Grasshopper Fire was 17% contained with 1,244 personnel on scene and 31,571 acres burned, primarily in the Badger Creek Wildnerness. Evacuation orders for the Pine Hollow area dropped to Level 2 that morning as well. Freeborn’s crew took command of the fire, which was sparked by lightning on July 23, last Wednesday with the Oregon State Fire Marshal.
Smoke from the lightning-caused Grasshopper Fire hangs over Pine Hollow Reservoir early on July 28.
Nathan Wilson photo
During a community meeting two days later on July 31, operations leadership and local residents braced for a strong wind event. The incident meteorologist projected 30-35 mile-per-hour westerly gusts from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. on Saturday as a cold front came over the Cascades, triggering a Red Flag warning for most of Eastern Oregon.
But control lines along the fire’s southwest corner and edge nearest Pine Hollow, didn’t budge. The northeast corner, however, saw slopover off Forest Road 27 and a spot fire heading toward Friend that crews were able to halt at roughly 400 acres burned.
And while no residential structures have reportedly been impacted yet, the Flag Point Lookout went up in flames on Saturday, despite prior fuels reduction work and fire retardant. The site, reconstructed in 1973, had been used to spot wildfires since 1924.
Smoke envelops the Flag Point Lookout on July 31. The site, which has been used to spot wildfires in the Mt. Hood National Forest since 1924, burned down last Saturday.
Photo courtesy of the United States Forest Service
“Flag Point has long been an important part of the Mt. Hood National Forest and holds a special place for many members of the surrounding communities,” reads a press release from the United States Forest Service. “Firefighters remained engaged in structure protection operations as long as conditions allowed.”
Critical radio infrastructure on Flag Point, used by Wasco County, the Forest Service and other agencies, wasn’t damaged.
With a reprieve from the strong winds on Sunday, crews focused on building control lines around the Forest Road 27 slopover and indirect lines above the fire’s northern edge. Limited road access and steep terrain have necessitated different tactics for the fire’s upper half, including heavy air support and backing up to more defensible areas.
On Monday, as winds from the east brought hotter, drier temperatures once again, Freeborn explained how the areas of concern would similarly shift.
“That’s really going to benefit the east side of the fire, but it’s going to test all those control lines on the west side and northwest of the fire,” he said. “We’ll really have to keep an eye on this west side.”
Only five homes were still under Level 3 evacuation orders on Monday morning, compared to nearly 900 the day prior, according to numbers from Wasco County’s Department of Emergency Management.
Although season-ending rains are still months away, more land has already burned across Oregon than the 1.93-million-acre record set in 2024, based on data from the Northwest Interagency Coordination Center. Last week, the agency issued an advisory noting how dismal snowpack and subsequent drought conditions have made normally unavailable fuels ripe for burning.
Of the 29,201 firefighters deployed nationwide, 19,276 were stationed in Oregon as of press deadline. During the community meeting last Friday, Oregon State Fire Marshal Mariana Ruiz-Temple, numerous Forest Service representatives, Mid-Columbia Fire & Rescue Chief David Jensen, Wamic Fire Chief Larry Magill, Tygh Valley Chief David Colburn and most of the senior leadership from Freeborn’s team were present.
Local residents gathered in South Wasco County High School’s cafeteria late on July 31 for a meeting about progress on the Grasshopper Fire, which included updates and statements of support from personnel with the Wasco County Sheriff’s Office, Oregon State Fire Marshal, Oregon Department of Forestry, United States Forest Service and California Interagency Management Team 6.
Nathan Wilson photo
Wasco County Sheriff Lane Magill speaks at the Grasshopper Fire community meeting on July 31 at South Wasco County High School.
Nathan Wilson photo
“We started with nine when this thing happened, nine incident commanders,” said Wasco County Sheriff Lane Magill. “We went from nine to over 90. These guys are highly trained. I’ve worked with a lot of incident management teams over the years in major incidents like this, and these guys are dialed in.”
At the request of Jensen, Ruiz-Temple invoked the Emergency Conflagration Act last Wednesday to bring additional resources from outside the state, and Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek announced that federal dollars will cover up to 75% of the Grasshopper Fire’s total suppression cost.
“This does create a lot of stress and fear in the community,” Chase Duncan, a state forester based in The Dalles, said to residents last Friday. “We have four of my firefighters who live in the community that are under evacuation and are still out on the line fighting the fire, so we understand.”
The Grasshopper Fire has closed multiple trails, recreation sites and roads in the Mt. Hood National Forest. More information can be found here. For evacuation notices, click here.
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