Bologna, Cottonwood, Little Bear, & Rosenbaum Fires Update Aug 16, 2026

Hold and secure: firefighters make significant progress on Rosenbaum Fire 

KIMBERLY, Ore. (Aug. 16, 2026) – Firefighters made significant progress on the Rosenbaum fire, leading to the reopening of the single-lane closure on Highway 19 and reducing some evacuation levels in Grant County. Today they look to hold and improve control lines and tie in critical line along the southwestern portion of the fire along difficult, craggy terrain and bluffs. Elsewhere on the Rosenbaum Fire, crews continue mop up and cooling hot spots, most notably along the highway and around structures.  

Overnight, firefighters used drones with infrared (IR) instruments to map and extinguish hot spots around the perimeters of the Bologna, Cottonwood and Little Bear fires as they continue mop-up operations. Firefighters continue to strengthen control lines across all incidents with mop up well into 200 and 300 feet into the fire’s perimeter. Firefighters continue grid-pattern work to identify and cool hot spots along the fire’s edge and provide vigilant patrols to monitor and respond quickly if needed. Additionally, crews also began some suppression repair work to prevent erosion and flooding. 

With lightning in the region forecasted through the weekend, paired with critically-dry vegetation, incident personnel have identified initial attack resources to be prepared to assist local firefighting resources to quickly knock down any news starts.

The Umatilla National Forest issued a temporary closure order for the Bologna Fire on August 11, 2026, which includes portions of Forest Service Roads (FSR) 24, as well as Tamarack Cabin and Lookout. For more information about the closure, visit
https://www.fs.usda.gov/r06/umatilla/alerts

Air Quality Information: Air quality updates: https://fire.airnow.gov/

Fire restrictions: Officials want to remind everyone that during fire season multiple agencies have restrictions in place to reduce human caused fires, including public use restrictions and limits on equipment use. Check with your local fire service organization before you start the next wildfire.

If You Fly, We Can’t: Temporary Flight Restriction (TFR):

A “TFR” is in place for the fire area daily (24 hours) until further notice. Flying a drone near or around a wildfire is illegal and compromises the safety of both pilots and firefighters and interferes with firefighting efforts. If you fly, we can’t. All illegal drone use will be reported to law enforcement.