It could be a very challenging weekend for fire crews working the 30 active wildfires east of the Cascade Mountains.
A red flag warning has been issued for much of Oregon east of the Cascades due to dry conditions and high winds forecasted.
The warning stays in place from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. on Aug. 1. Winds are forecast to run west from 20 to 30 mph, with gusts up to 40 mph. Relative humidity could drop as low as 20%.
"Very warm, dry, and windy conditions will lead to extreme fire weather concerns and the potential for rapid fire spread for any new or ongoing fires," the warning said.
The alert is being caused by a cold front arriving in Oregon from the Pacific, which will bring the chance for rain on the coast and cooler conditions in the Willamette Valley. But the front is expected to cause "downsloping" winds down the east side of the Cascades.
The timing is tough, because fire teams have been making steady progress on record-breaking number of fires that have been burning between central and eastern Oregon.
A few days of mild conditions, and 12,500 fire crew working the blazes, have helped reduce fire spread and increased containment on many of the fires.
So far, Oregon has burned 1.88 million acres, which is just short of the record for acres burned the state set at 1.93 million back in 2024.
The most impactful blaze likely remains the Bench Fire, which has burned eight homes on the Warm Springs Indian Reservation. On July 30, it was discovered that the fire had cracked a 6-inch water main beneath Shitike Creek, which supplies water to major facilities on the reservation, The Oregonian reported.
The reservation's water supply was down to 10% as of July 31, officials said. The Bench Fire reached 65,000 acres and is 32% contained.
The Grasshopper Fire burning east of Mount Hood reached 23,000 acres by the morning of July 31.
The fire had no estimated containment on July 31.
Level 1, 2 and 3 evacuations remained for the forest and Tygh Valley west of Maupin. The popular Flag Mountain Lookout site was wrapped in fire-resistant material by crews over the weekend and the fire appears to have reached the lookout site.
Full evacuation maps can be found using the RAPTOR mapping system.
The most active fires recently have been the giant grass fires near Burns in southeast Oregon. The Coleman Creek Fire is 212,182 acres with 0% containment while the Big Grass is more than 300,000 acres and has burned into Idaho. Much of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge is closed.
Some of the largest complexes, Rowe Creek and Hay Creek, have seen their containment increase to 52% and 90% respectively. Other fires that have mellowed include the Akawa Butte Fire, outside Sisters, that was once the highest priority fire in the nation. It reached 43% contained on July 31.
The cost of wildfires in Oregon reached just under $300 million for the 2026 season as of July 31.
Oregon officials have been outraged that the Federal Emergency Management Agency denied requests for two federal grants to help with wildfire costs across the state.
Zach Urness has been an outdoors reporter in Oregon for 18 years and is host of the Explore Oregon Podcast. He can be reached at [email protected] or 503-399-6801. Find him on X at @ZachsORoutdoors and BlueSky at oregonoutdoors.bsky.social
This article originally appeared on Salem Statesman Journal: 'Extreme fire weather' warning issued for Oregon wildfires