Malheur County, Oregon · Wildfire
| Metric | Last report | Now | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Size |
582,226 acres Aug 15, 8:01 PM
|
578,448 acres
Aug 17, 11:00 AM
−3,778 acres
was 582,226 acres · Aug 15, 8:01 PM
|
−3,778 acres
in 1 day
|
| Containment |
55% Aug 15, 8:01 PM
|
72%
Aug 17, 11:00 AM
+17 percent
was 55% · Aug 15, 8:01 PM
|
+17 percent
in 1 day
|
| Crew size |
1,006 Aug 15, 8:01 PM
|
1,050
Aug 17, 11:00 AM
+44
was 1,006 · Aug 15, 8:01 PM
|
+44
in 1 day
|
| Money spent |
$52.0M Aug 15, 8:01 PM
|
$53.3M
Aug 17, 11:00 AM
+$1.3M
was $52.0M · Aug 15, 8:01 PM
|
+$1.3M
in 1 day
|
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The Big Grass Fire is a wildfire near Malheur County, Oregon. It has burned about 578,448 acres (about 438,000 football fields). Crews have boxed in 72% of its edge; the other 28% isn't contained yet. It was first reported about 4 weeks ago. About 1,050 people are on it, run by a Complex Incident Management Team. We're also tracking 5 other active fires within about 75 miles.
The size and containment above are current as of Monday, August 17th at 11:00 a.m. CDT.
Hot, dry, and windy weather can help a fire grow; cool, calm, or wet weather helps crews. The tags below rate each day for fire spread — green is calm, red can push a fire.
A general fire-weather guide (wind matters most, then how dry it is, then heat), not a prediction of what this fire will do.
Today
87°F · Partly Sunny
Wind 5 to 8 mph W · 9% chance of rain
Tonight
60°F · Mostly Cloudy
Wind 5 to 9 mph W · 11% chance of rain
Tuesday
88°F · Partly Sunny
Wind 6 to 10 mph W · 0% chance of rain
Tuesday Night
59°F · Partly Cloudy
Wind 7 to 13 mph NNE · 0% chance of rain
Wednesday
90°F · Mostly Sunny
Wind 6 mph SW · 0% chance of rain
Forecast from the National Weather Service (weather.gov), pulled Monday, August 17th at 11:03 a.m. CDT.
About 1,050 people are assigned to this fire, run by a Complex Incident Management Team. The government rates it a Type 1 Incident (the highest complexity level). About $53 million has been spent on it so far.
The official feed reports the total headcount, not a breakdown by crew type.
We show the daily official picture. For minute-by-minute updates, evacuation orders, and maps, these do it best:
Within about 75 miles we're tracking 5 other active fires, closest first:
Fighting fire is a job you can get
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Most crews hire in fall and winter for the next summer, when more jobs open up.
Oregon has 4 of these jobs open right now.
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