Hagen & Paradise fires Monday morning update
By Terry Murry on Monday, August 10th, 2026 in Uncategorized
Editor’s note: The new evacuation levels mentioned here were released and posted on our website Sunday.
Report from Northern Rockies Team 6, Incident Commander Rich Cowger
Hagen Fire Paradise Fire
Latest Intelligence Latest Intelligence
Size: 49,638 Containment: 11% Size: 3,155 acres Containment: 0%
827 Personnel 340 Personnel
Key Message – Fire grows to 204 Highway
The Hagen Fire reached Highway 204 on Sunday. The highway will remain closed for the foreseeable future to protect firefighter and public safety. Several spots landed on the east side of the road, but firefighters managed to contain all of them and will remain vigilant for future spots. Firefighters will implement defensive burn operations in the Sprout Springs area if conditions allow. Continued structure assessment and preparation will take place Monday in the Tollgate area. On Monday, fire activity is expected to be similar to Sunday.
Firefighters have two options when fighting fire: going direct or indirect. When firefighters go direct, suppression efforts directly next to the fire, which limits the footprint of the fire. They are only able to do this when terrain and conditions allow. They cannot “go direct” when the area is too steep, rocky, has too many overhead hazards or when fire activity is simply too much. When the fire activity becomes too aggressive or the terrain or weather conditions too severe, firefighters “go indirect.” Indirect line is put in a safe distance from the fire front utilizing rivers, ridges, or roads which act as natural fire barriers or they construct lines that firefighters reinforce with vegetation removal and trenches dug in the ground. When putting in indirect line, the idea is that after line completion, under favorable conditions, firefighters will conduct a strategic burn operation on the fire side of the line. This removes the fuels next to the line and acts as a buffer zone from the advancing fire front. In many places in the Hagen and Paradise Fires firefighters are building indirect line and have burned and will continue to burn strategically as conditions allow.
Current Status
Paradise Fire –
On the north side, the fire continues to hold south of Mill Creek. It has crossed Mill Creek east of the main fire in the upper drainage; however, this does not threaten homes or infrastructure at this time. To the southeast, the fire is expected to run into the 64 Road Monday or Tuesday. Firefighters have been prepping this road to use as fire line. Sunday evening, the fire crossed Paradise Creek and started to climb Broken Ridge. Crews are scouting Broken Ridge to see if indirect handline will be feasible on the ridgetop. Fire managers are looking to establish a spike camp on the north side of the fire so that firefighters have closer access. Structure protection and egress work continues on the west side of the fire. See the Walla Walla County Emergency Management Facebook page and web page for more information on fire personnel and heavy equipment advisories and other emergency information. Umatilla and Walla Walla Counties are evaluating evacuation levels daily for areas along Mill Creek and along the west side of the forest boundary. See the evacuation links below for more information.
Hagen Fire –
The fire has come into contact with Highway 204 in the Sprout Springs Ski Area. Firefighters worked tirelessly to hold it at the highway. There were several spots that crossed the road to the east that firefighters captured Sunday night. Fire managers are looking to burn strategically along the southern end of Highway 204 to create a barrier for the advancing fire front. Fire managers have plans for structure protection in the Tollgate area including the Langdon Lake area but have not had to implement this plan yet. On Sunday, a spot fire was located south of Bingham on the western side of the Hagen Fire. It is in difficult terrain that requires shuttling crews in by UTV for several miles. It is a ~ 7-acre spot that fire leadership is confident will be contained soon. On the east side of the 31 Road, all spots have been wrapped with fire line and are contained. Prep is expected to finish today along the 160 Road on the southeast side of the fire. There was an increase in fire behavior around 2 p.m. with groups of trees torching and places where the fire made small uphill runs. Evacuation levels in Umatilla and Union counties are being evaluated in response to fire now established on the north side of the North Fork of the Umatilla River. See the evacuation links below for more information.
Weather and Fire Behavior
Sunday the fires had 18 mile per hour gusts and 16-20% relative humidity which is critically low for this area. As the smoke lifted in the afternoon fire activity increased. More of the same is expected for Monday. There is a slight cooling and wetting trend that will continue for the next few days. The biggest factor in fire behavior on the Hagen and Paradise Fires will continue to be the smoke for the next few days. The fire activity will increase in the afternoon if the smoke clears and the sunlight warms the fuels on the ground or if there is wind-slope alignment.
EVACUATIONS
Evacuation Levels: Fire conditions can change rapidly. Evacuation levels and Road Closures are frequently adjusted.
Joint updates from Umatilla County, Union County and the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation, follow the Umatilla County Sheriff’s Office https://www.facebook.com/UmatillaCountySheriff
Walla Walla County Emergency Management updates: https://www.facebook.com/WallaWallaEM
or their webpage: www.wwemd.info
Umatilla County Emergency Management: https://umatillacounty.net/departments/sheriffs-office/emergency-management/emergency-advisories
Union County Emergency Management: https://unioncountyor.gov/emergency-services/es-current-alerts/
UDOT Road Closure updates: https://tripcheck.com/
Closures and Special Messages
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: For public safety and to facilitate firefighting operations:
Hagen Fire: There is a new, expanded closure order for the Hagen Fire.
https://www.fs.usda.gov/r06/umatilla/alerts/hagen-and-horse-ridge-fire-emergency-closure
And https://www.fs.usda.gov/r06/umatilla/alerts/hagen-fire-expanded-emergency-closure.
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, Buck Creek Trailhead, Horseshoe Prairie Trailhead, Woodland Campground, Lugar/Eagle Springs Trailhead, and the Jubilee Lake area. This is not an exhaustive list.
Paradise Fire: The Paradise Fire closure order and map are available at
https://www.fs.usda.gov/r06/umatilla/alerts/paradise-fire-emergency-closure.
Areas include the Mill Creek Watershed, FSR 64 from its junction with FSR 46 to its junction with FSR 65 and FSR 65 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
Photo by the Umatilla County Sheriff’s Office of the Hagen Fire from the Coyote Ridge Lookout at about 1 a.m. Aug. 9