Fire Information Phone: 541-970-7128 (8 am – 8 pm; voice only; texts will not be received)
Email: 2026.paradise@firenet.gov
Inciweb: https://inciweb.wildfire.gov/
AirNow: https://fire.airnow.gov
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61592064000400
August 2, 2026
Firefighters Hold the Line
Update: Tonight at 6 pm there will be a community meeting at the Elgin Community Center, 260 N 10th Street in Elgin to discuss the Hagen Fire. It will be live streamed at this link: https://sites.resi.io/ess-paradisemtg
Yesterday’s gusty wind and low humidity fostered moderate growth on the Paradise and Hagen Fires. Firefighters kept the Horse Ridge fire within its established containment lines. With more moderate conditions today firefighters will more directly engage the fire to improve containment and strengthen structure protection. There are 1079 people assigned today.
The Paradise Fire (1,204 acres) is about 10 miles southeast of Walla Walla. The fire grew primarily to the north, gaining 225 acres and crossing Paradise Ridge and approaching Mill Creek. Today firefighters will continue structure protection preparation to the northwest of the fire and locate new fire line location where they can approach the fire directly. The fire is entirely within the municipal watershed for the City of Walla Walla and requires very careful suppression activity to preserve the integrity of the watershed.
The Hagen Fire (37,645 acres) is about 4 miles southwest of Tollgate and about 12 miles northwest of Elgin and is 8% contained. The fire gained 610 acres yesterday. The western containment line at Rattlesnake Ridge and the northern line at Bingham Road held through the high winds yesterday. Multiple spot fires occurred east of FS Road 31. Crews worked through the night to contain the spot fires and will continue work today to strengthen this road as a containment line. Today firefighters will work to keep the fire south of the North Fork of the Umatilla River and reinforce and improve structure protection and containment lines around the fire.
The Horse Ridge Fire (838 acres) about 5 miles northeast of Meacham stayed within established lines and is still 95% contained. Firefighters are patrolling the fire’s edge and are mopping up deeper in the interior.
Evacuation Levels: Fire conditions can change rapidly. Evacuation levels have been elevated in areas of Umatilla County, Union County and the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation. See the advisories at https://www.umatillacounty.net/departments/sheriffs-office/emergency-management/emergency-advisories. Follow the Sheriff’s Office on Facebook for evacuation updates: https://www.facebook.com/UmatillaCountySheriff
Fire and Fuels Advisory: The Northwest Coordination Center’s Predictive Services has issued an advisory https://gacc.nifc.gov/nwcc/content/pdfs/Fuels_and_Fire_Behavior_Advisory_PNW_0728.pdf. This winter’s record low snowpack in the Northwest, along with recent drought conditions, has led to live and dead fuels curing significantly earlier than usual. Fire activity is already reflecting patterns normally seen much later in the fire season.
Weather and Fire Behavior: High relative humidly overnight will taper off today, with winds expected to be less than 10-15 mph on exposed ridges. These conditions are expected to result in moderate fire behavior, with general perimeter growth expected on uncontained lines.
Smoke Outlook: For current smoke reports visit https://fire.airnow.gov. For detailed northeast Oregon air reports, visit https://outlooks.wildlandfiresmoke.net/outlook/61e48530. For southeast Washington, visit https://outlooks.wildlandfiresmoke.net/outlook/bb27fabc.
Fire Restrictions: The Umatilla National Forest has issued public use restrictions https://www.fs.usda.gov/r06/umatilla/alerts/phase-c-public-use-restrictions for smoking, off-road travel, and chainsaw use across the entire national forest.
Umatilla National Forest Closures: Forest officials have issued the following Forest Closure Order, https://www.fs.usda.gov/sites/nfs/files/r06/umatilla/publication/alerts/06-14-06-26-09_Hagen-HorseRidgeFire_FullOrder.pdf for public safety and to facilitate firefighting operations. Areas included in the closure include Corporation Guard Station and Trailhead, North Fork Umatilla Trailhead, Umatilla Fork Day-Use Area and Campground, Buck Creek Cabin, and Buck Creek Trailhead.
Air Space Restrictions: Temporary Flight Restrictions are in place over the wildfires. If you fly, we can’t. Every time a drone is spotted near the fire all aircraft are grounded until we can be sure the drone is clear of this area. http://knowbeforeyoufly.org
