PNW Wildfire Update, plus Brook and Biscar Fires – 7/19/2026

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Oregon and Washington Lightning Bust Spurs Dozens of Large Fires, Straining Crews from Medford to the Columbia Plateau

Date: Sunday, July 19, 2026
By: The Lookout

A major lightning bust across Oregon has ignited a sprawling web of fires from Southern Oregon to the Columbia Plateau, rapidly stretching firefighting resources and creating a highly volatile situation under hot, dry weather.

In a Sunday briefing, The Lookout’s wildfire analyst Zeke Lunder walked viewers through the emerging picture: a mostly stable Evans Creek Fire near Shady Cove, a cluster of rapidly evolving fires north and east of Bend, massive complexes in central Oregon’s deserts and forests, and a destructive reservation fire in Washington—along with growing competition for aircraft as new incidents pop up in Northern California.

Watch our video briefing, here:

Evans Creek Fire: Mostly Holding, But Board Mountain Portion is Active

Near Grants Pass, Ashland, Phoenix, and Central Point, the Evans Creek Fire continues to hold within existing lines on most of its perimeter. The key concern now is the Board Mountain Fire in the middle of the incident:

  • Overnight infrared mapping was not completed due to pilots timing out on duty hours.
  • Satellite heat detection around 3:00 a.m. showed the Board Mountain Fire making about a half-mile run to the south.
  • This south end on Board Mountain is currently the only significant area escaping control lines.

Despite overall good progress on Evans Creek, Lunder warned that with forecast highs in the upper 90s, humidity near 20%, and northeast winds around 13 mph, the Board Mountain segment remains far from a done deal and could see additional spread.

Overnight fire spread on Board Mountain. White lines show areas of no recent spread. Yellow areas are cooling down.

Central Oregon: Aqua Butte, Coyote, and Brewer Fires Show Major Growth Potential

North of Bend and Sisters, three fires are drawing increasing concern: Akawa Butte, Coyote, and Brewer.

Akawa Butte Fire

  • Burning into the 2025 Flat Fire scar near Sisters on eastern flank. No recent fire history to W, S, or N.
  • Portions of the fire have gone out where it has run into old burn areas, especially along the eastern flank.
  • Dozer line has been constructed along the lower edges, and operations maps show line wrapping the south end of the current push.
  • The unlined SW side sits in thick ponderosa pine and juniper, with heavy fuel loading. Fires under dry conditions have a notorious tendency for spotting in the dry, windy environment east of the Cascades.

    Akawa Butte Fire. 2025 Flat Fire is blue. Yellow dots are structures.

Coyote Fire

  • Located north and east of Bend, and SE of Prineville, it is burning in the Maury Mountains on the Ochoco National Forest.
  • Recent mapping is incomplete due to cloud cover interfering with infrared on the south end.
  • The fire is:
    • Spreading readily on the west side
    • Muted on the east where it has run into a recent burn
    • Poised for growth on the southwest side, where it has continuous fuels and favorable topography
  • The fire has potential to run up Newsome Creek drainage, presenting a clear path for upslope runs.
  • A Type 1 incident management team is incoming, but formal strategy and maps have not yet been widely shared.
Coyote Fire. The blue area burned in past several years.

Brewer Fire

  • Burning east of Madras, north of Highway 26, in the Ochoco Mountains, crossing Jefferson and Crook counties.
  • Managed by an Oregon Department of Forestry team that is also handling the Pilot Fire and Akawa Butte.
  • Brewer has shown persistent growth to the south and east, continuing to “gobble” into fuels beyond the last mapping period.
  • So far, it has not spread significantly back to the west, but remains one of the higher-potential growth fires in the region.
Brewer Fire – north of Prineville.

Rowe Canyon & Hay Creek Complexes: Large Acreage, Mixed Fuels

Rowe Canyon Complex

Between Highway 26 and Fossil on Highway 19, west of the John Day Fossil Beds National Monument, several lightning fires have merged and are being managed as the Rowe Creek Complex:

  • Originally separate fires: Cove Creek, Cross White, Red Rock, Tookenham, and Pat’s Cabin.
  • Now being managed as one complex, mapped at roughly 125,000 acres.
  • Behavior:
    • Fire is generally less active on the west side, where fuels are sparser (yellow dots on map are areas which are cooling down).
    • Most of the intense activity is on the eastern flanks, where more continuous fuels exist (red dots on maps).
    • Patchy juniper and discontinuous fuels cause the fire to move through “targets of opportunity” rather than as a solid wall of flame.
Roe Canyon Complex Fires – about 115,000 acres at 3am on 7/19/2026.

Hay Creek Complex

Farther north, another cluster of fires—Hoag, Hay Creek, Hopkin, Porcupine Bridge, 456, and Wilcox—is being managed as the Hay Creek Complex.

  • Burning mostly in rangeland and scrub, with a mix of fine fuels and broken topography.
  • Many of these fires have:
    • Burned to natural features or rivers and gone out on their own in some areas.
    • Been checked by roads and firing operations where access allows.
  • Incident maps show limited dozer line on some flanks (e.g., Hopkin and Porcupine Ridge), but Lunder emphasized that “intel moves slower than fire”:
    • More work has likely been done on the ground than is reflected in official maps.
    • Heat satellite imagery shows large areas cooling (yellow) with remaining hot spots (red) where contiguous fuels and poor access persist.
Hay Creek Complex Fires

Other Oregon Incidents: From High Desert to the Blue Mountains

Scattered across eastern Oregon, several smaller—but still important—incidents are active:

  • Henry Fire near Burns, up by Paulina – currently fairly active.
  • Egypt Fire near Burns – appears to be largely winding down.
  • Powder River Fire near Baker City, southwest of Richland – a new fire with significant growth in the past 24 hours but little formal mapping or intel yet.
  • Northeast Oregon:
    • Horse Ridge Fire – showing some spread to the south.
    • Hagen Fire east of Pendleton – growing in multiple directions.
    • Paradise Fire near the Oregon–Washington border east of Walla Walla – smaller but active on its north side.

Many older fires in the region—such as Olive Butte, Salmon, and Little Alps—have been active for about 10 days but are now mostly smoldering in pockets with relatively low growth compared to the new lightning starts.

Burns area
Baker City Area
South of Pendleton
Walla Walla in lower center of map

 

Kaiser Canyon Fire: Destructive Runs on the Colville Reservation

North of the Oregon border in Washington, the Kaiser Canyon Fire on the Colville Reservation has emerged as one of the most destructive fires of this lightning episode:

  • The fire has burned through densely settled areas near the Nespelem Community Center, where satellite mapping shows a concentration of structures.
  • Lunder noted that:
    • The fire has made big runs and remains very active.
    • Heat mapping shows significant activity on the northwest and northeast flanks.
  • Despite limited media coverage so far, Kaiser Canyon has destroyed multiple homes.

 

Scale, Resources, and the Limits of Control

Using the Roe Creek Complex as an example, Lunder underscored the scale problem these lightning bursts create:

  • A 130,000-acre fire can easily translate to 100 miles or more of active perimeter—even in a rough estimate.
  • Holding and suppressing such a line requires thousands of firefighters, extensive equipment, and favorable weather.
  • With current conditions—persistent heat, low humidity, and limited access in many areas—even well-staffed fires face steep odds.

“Until the weather cooperates,” Lunder emphasized, fires with heavy fuels and poor access will keep burning, while those bounded by roads, rivers, and prior firing operations will likely wrap up sooner.

Fire Weather: Critically Bad Across Much of Oregon

Weather is the central driver of today’s risk profile:

Evans Creek / Southern Oregon (Shady Cove)

  • High temperature: Around 97°F
  • Minimum humidity: ~20%
  • Winds: Up to 13 mph from the northeast by late afternoon

These conditions are considered critically bad for fire behavior and direct attack, especially in heavier fuels like those on Board Mountain.

East of Bend / Central & Eastern Oregon

  • Temperatures: Consistently in the 90s through the week
  • Minimum humidity: As low as 12%
  • Wind gusts: Up to 20 mph from the north–northwest during the hottest part of the day

Combined, this means:

  • Rapid drying of fine fuels by noon.
  • Humidity in the teens until well into the evening.
  • A narrow—and sometimes unrealistic—window for safe, effective direct attack in significant fuels.

Northern California: Desert Fire and Backbone Ridge Incident

While Oregon dominates the lightning bust narrative, Northern California is beginning to feel the strain of competing resource demands.

Biscar Fire (Northeast of Susanville)

  • Burning in high-desert country northeast of Susanville, in an area that previously saw a 315,000-acre brush fire in 2012.
  • The landscape consists of:
    • Continuous brush fuels
    • Poor access
    • Very few structures
  • Because there are so few people and structures in harm’s way, such fires typically receive lower priority for air tankers and engines than more populated areas.
  • Lunder noted that these deserts can support very large runs when resources are scarce and weather is unfavorable, as history in this region shows.

  • Biscar Fire in red, with 2012 Rush Fire (315,000 acres) in light blue.

Brook Fire near Redding (Backbone Ridge)

Closer to population centers, the Brook Fire near Redding has triggered a much more aggressive response:

  • Located near Shasta Lake along Backbone Ridge, a steep, rugged divide between Highway 299 and the lake.
  • The fire:
    • Started lower on the slope.
    • Spotted uphill and ran to Backbone Ridge on hot, dry, windy conditions.
  • Cal Fire mounted an intensive response, including night-flying helicopters, and early indications are that the fire may be largely checked, pending further confirmation.

However, Backbone Ridge is a historically tricky place to fight fire:

  • Strong up-canyon winds from the Sacramento Valley can push flames upslope during the day.
  • At night, cold-air drainage from the vast Pit River watershed can create strong downslope winds, funneled through low spots in the ridge.
  • Previous fires, such as the Bear Fire, have proven that Backbone Ridge is not a guaranteed barrier, even when it appears as a prominent line on the map.

What’s Next

Looking ahead, The Lookout plans to:

  • Host a livestream Monday night with updated mapping and strategy details on key Oregon and Northern California fires.
  • Provide expanded coverage of the Aspen Acres Fire in Colorado, which has seen some growth but remains limited compared to the Northwest incidents.
  • Deliver a deeper dive into the Brook Fire and Backbone Ridge dynamics as more intel becomes available.

With hot, dry weather locked in and multiple large fires still unconstrained, the coming days will be critical for firefighters from southern Oregon to the Columbia Plateau and across the borders into Northern California and Washington.