Crews gain containment on Blue Mountains fires; Camp Meadowood cancels session
By Griffin Beach on Monday, July 27th, 2026 in Columbia Basin News More Top Stories
PENDLETON – Officials said that regional haze continued to moderate fire behavior yesterday, allowing crews to make gains on containment in the Hagen, Horse Ridge, and Paradise Fires burning across the Blue Mountains.
The Paradise Fire, burning near Walla Walla, is entirely within the city’s watershed, which requires careful suppression activity. Crews are continuing to build lines to contain the fire despite the extreme terrain, but officials said it is spreading slowly in heavy fuels at high elevation.
The Horse Ridge Fire near Meacham is 60% contained at 832 acres. Firefighters are mopping up along the fire’s edge and patrolling the perimeter.
The Hagen Fire is by far the largest at 25,879 acres, having merged with the Nine Mile Fire over the weekend. Aerial support has dropped 50,000 gallons of water to help slow the spread. Officials say the north perimeter of the fire at Bingham Road is holding with mop-up operations ongoing. They said the fire has expanded to the south and east, with moderate growth to the west.
Camp Meadowood Springs announced Monday morning that it has canceled Session 2 of its camp for the season. Noting that the camp is under a Level 2 evacuation order and citing the uncertainty of the fire season, leadership said it could not safely welcome campers and staff back.
“This is not the ending to our camp season that any of us envisioned,” the camp said in a statement. “As heartbreaking as this decision is, the safety of our campers and staff will always come first.”
Here is the most up-to-date evacuation map as of Monday afternoon, with Level 1 (“Be Ready”) in green, Level 2 (“Be Set”) in yellow and Level 3 (“Go Now”) in red.
Top photo from Umatilla Co. Sheriff Deputy McMasters.
