Hay Creek Complex

Gilliam County, Oregon · Complex (group of fires)

No longer active Official numbers updated Sep 14, 2026 (about 1 month ago)

First reported about 3 months ago

Metric	Last report	Now	Change
Size	193,112 acres Jul 29, 9:00 PM	200,292 acres Oct 17, 4:00 AM +7,180 acres was 193,112 acres · Jul 29, 9:00 PM	+7,180 acres in 3 months
Containment	97% Sep 14, 3:00 PM	100% Oct 17, 4:00 AM +3 percent was 97% · Sep 14, 3:00 PM	+3 percent in about 1 month
Crew size	98 Aug 4, 1:00 PM	12 Oct 17, 4:00 AM −86 was 98 · Aug 4, 1:00 PM	−86 in 2 months
Money spent	$20.6M Aug 3, 9:00 PM	$21.1M Oct 17, 4:00 AM +$459,905 was $20.6M · Aug 3, 9:00 PM	+$459,905 in 2 months

Hay Creek Complex summary

The Hay Creek Complex is a group of wildfires (a “complex”) near Gilliam County, Oregon. It has burned about 200,292 acres (about 152,000 football fields). Crews have it fully contained, with a line all the way around it. It was first reported about 3 months ago. About 12 people are on it, run by a Type 5 IC.

Size: 200,292 acres
Containment: 100%
Discovered: July 16, 2026 (first reported about 3 months ago)
Cause: Not reported

The size and containment above are current as of Monday, September 28th at 4:00 p.m. CDT.

Free · No email needed · Results in seconds

Worried About Your Home's Fire Risk? Get Your Free Instant Fire Danger Report.

Enter your address to get a free wildfire report based on official government data. See every real wildfire near your house, whether a fire warning is active right now, what's around your house from above, and how your area compares to the rest of the country.

No email needed. Your report shows up right on this page. We do not share your address.

Weather & fire-spread conditions

No Red Flag Warning. The National Weather Service hasn't flagged this area for dangerous fire-spread conditions right now.

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 a specific fire will do.

	Day	Night
This Afternoon	75°F · Sunny Wind 12 mph NW · 0% rain Wind: Breezy Heat: Warm Dry	47°F · Clear Wind 1 to 10 mph W · 0% rain Wind: Breezy Heat: Cool Dry
Tuesday	76°F · Sunny Wind 1 to 9 mph NW · 1% rain Wind: Calm Heat: Warm Dry	52°F · Mostly Clear Wind 2 to 7 mph NNW · 0% rain Wind: Calm Heat: Cool Dry
Wednesday	78°F · Sunny Wind 2 to 10 mph NW · 0% rain Wind: Breezy Heat: Warm Dry	—

Forecast from the National Weather Service (weather.gov), pulled Monday, September 28th at 4:01 p.m. CDT.

Could this fire move fast?

Weather isn't the only thing that changes how a fire moves. The ground matters too: how steep it is, and what's growing on it. These four numbers are for the exact spot where this fire started, not the whole fire. A big fire crosses a lot of different ground.

1° slope

Fire usually moves faster uphill than downhill. Heat and flame lean uphill, drying out the ground above the fire before it gets there.

Fallen leaves and needles (TL3)

A moderate layer of pine needles with a few larger sticks and logs mixed in. Fire moves very slowly, with short flames.

45% tree canopy cover

The more tree cover above a fire, the easier it is for the fire to climb from the ground into the treetops. That's called a crown fire. Crown fires move faster, throw embers farther ahead of the fire, and are harder for crews to stop head-on.

2,710 ft elevation

Elevation by itself doesn't make a fire more or less dangerous. But it shapes the other three numbers here: what grows there, how dry things get, and what the weather does.

Elevation and slope from the USGS 3D Elevation Program; fuel type and canopy cover from LANDFIRE (USGS and U.S. Forest Service), pulled Thursday, September 10th at 3:42 p.m. CDT.

Who's on it

About 12 people are assigned to this fire, run by a Type 5 IC. The government rates it a Type 5 Incident. About $21 million has been spent on it so far.

The official feed reports the total headcount, not a breakdown by crew type.

Where to get live updates

We show the daily official picture. For minute-by-minute updates, evacuation orders, and maps, these do it best:

→ Watch Duty: real-time fire reporting and evacuations.
→ InciWeb: the government's official fire information site.

Nearby fires to Hay Creek Complex

No other active fires are near this one right now. It's on its own.

A wildland firefighter in a white helmet and yellow shirt sits on a grassy slope above a forested mountain valley

The guy who wrote this site, on a break. Summer 2026.

Wildland firefighting is a great job for the right person.

No college. No experience needed. You learn on the job.

Who fits:

→ Age 18 to 36. Veterans: any age.
→ Likes hard work and a team.
→ Wants a paid summer outdoors.

$54,000

a full 6-month season, with overtime

jobs open across the country right now

open to total beginners

Jobs in all 50 states, most of them out West. Most crews hire in fall and winter for the next summer. Oregon has 4 open right now, 2 for beginners. See them.

Know someone who fits?

Send them a link to woodlandfirefighter.com. It explains the job and how to get hired.

Want to talk to a real wildland firefighter?

I spent summer 2026 on a Forest Service crew in Montana. Happy to answer any questions. 30-minute call, $37.

Book a 30-minute call

Drop your email. Get the free guide.

Inside: the pay breakdown, a resume template, a training plan for the fitness (pack) test, and the hiring timeline.

100% free. No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.