Regional management team takes command of four wildfires in Umatilla National Forest

UMATILLA NATIONAL FOREST — A regional incident management team will take command of four lightning-caused wildfires burning across the Umatilla National Forest on Sunday morning, as parched conditions prompt officials to restrict public access.

Northwest Team 7 will assume control of the Paradise, Horse Ridge, Hagen, and Ninemile fires at 6 a.m. Sunday, according to the U.S. Forest Service. The fires sparked several days ago and are burning through steep, remote terrain filled with grass and timber.

The largest of the blazes, the Hagen Fire, has burned an estimated 650 acres about nine miles southwest of Tollgate, Oregon. Nearby, the Ninemile Fire is holding at 17 acres. In Washington, the Paradise Fire has grown to 250 acres roughly 10 miles southeast of Walla Walla. The fourth blaze, the Horse Ridge Fire, is burning approximately 313 acres five miles northeast of Meacham, Oregon.

Forest officials are enacting temporary area closures to protect public safety and aid crews. Affected sites include the Corporation Guard Station and Trailhead, North Fork Umatilla Trailhead, Umatilla Fork Day-Use Area and Campground, Buck Creek Cabin, and Buck Creek Trailhead.

Authorities also warned visitors at Jubilee Lake to watch for low-flying firefighting aircraft conducting aerial water-dipping operations.

The Umatilla National Forest is currently under a “high” fire danger rating, with Phase B Public Use Restrictions in effect. Officials urge the public to avoid active fire zones entirely. Turnout sizes and exact containment percentages have not yet been finalized.

July 16, 2026, photo of the Paradise Fire courtesy Umatilla National Forest

---

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

---

• 
• 
• 
• 

---

Elkhorn Media Group