A lightning-sparked wildfire has torn through 150 square miles of Oregon and swallowed a ski resort

A wildfire ignited by lightning has grown into one of the largest active blazes in Oregon, burning across the eastern flank of Mount Hood and forcing ski resorts on the mountain to evacuate and shut down. The Grasshopper Fire, which began in late July 2026, expanded to well over 130 square miles by mid-August and was still spreading, driven by hot, dry conditions and shifting winds. Its smoke has drifted west over Portland, and its advance has destroyed homes and threatened hundreds more structures.

The fire’s push toward Mount Hood’s recreation areas made it a visible threat to some of Oregon’s best-known landmarks. As flames and evacuation orders reached the mountain’s ski areas, resorts scrambled to close operations and clear staff and visitors, while firefighters worked to protect historic buildings and hold containment lines along key highways.

How the Grasshopper Fire grew near Mount Hood

The blaze was sparked by lightning in late July 2026 in Wasco County, on the drier eastern side of Mount Hood, and expanded rapidly over the following weeks. By the middle of August the fire had burned more than 85,000 acres, roughly 130 to 135 square miles, while containment held around 20 percent, according to reporting from the Portland television station KATU. The fire continued to grow by thousands of acres on active days, pushing westward into the Mount Hood Wilderness.

More than 1,800 personnel were assigned to the response, working to fortify lines on the fire’s eastern edge and protect homes as the blaze threatened communities in Wasco, Hood River, and Clackamas counties. The United States Forest Service imposed a formal closure of the affected area of the Mount Hood National Forest for public safety, with the restrictions set to remain in place for months, as detailed in the agency’s closure notice.

Ski resorts under evacuation orders

The fire’s advance toward the mountain’s recreation zone forced Mount Hood’s ski areas to shut down. Mt. Hood Meadows was placed under a Level 3 “Go Now” evacuation order, the most urgent category, prompting the resort to evacuate as crews worked to defend the property, according to reporting from the television station KPTV. Smoke and fire danger prompted closures at ski areas on the mountain even where structures were not directly in the flames.

The historic Timberline Lodge, a landmark built in the 1930s on Mount Hood’s southern slope, was placed under evacuation notices and suspended outdoor operations as conditions worsened, though firefighters worked to keep the fire away from the lodge itself. The threat to these well-known sites, more than the raw acreage, made the Grasshopper Fire a focus of statewide attention, and shifting winds at times offered brief reprieves that allowed some operations to resume before conditions deteriorated again.

Homes lost and a historic lookout destroyed

The fire has already caused permanent losses. Six houses and roughly 15 smaller structures were destroyed as the flames moved through the area, and about 200 additional buildings remained under threat, according to reporting from Oregon Public Broadcasting. Evacuation orders spanning multiple levels were issued across the affected counties, forcing residents to leave and, in the most urgent zones, to go immediately.

Among the losses was the Flag Point Fire Lookout, a historic structure that had been staffed since the 1920s and burned to the ground as the fire spread. The destruction of a nearly century-old lookout underscored the reach of the blaze into remote parts of the forest, where the fire consumed both wildland and the small human footprints scattered across it.

Lightning, drought, and a late-summer fire siege

The Grasshopper Fire’s rapid growth reflected the conditions common to Pacific Northwest wildfires in late summer. Lightning frequently ignites fires in the region’s dry forests during the warmest months, and once started, blazes can expand quickly when fuels are parched and winds are active. The eastern side of Mount Hood, drier than the wet western slopes, provided ample dry vegetation to carry the flames.

Fire behavior on the blaze shifted between flanking spread and faster, wind-driven runs, complicating efforts to establish containment. Crews concentrated on holding lines along major highways and defending clusters of homes, a strategy that prioritizes protecting people and structures when a fire is too large and too active to encircle quickly. The extended forest closure signaled that officials expected the fire and its aftermath to affect the area well beyond the peak of the burning.

What the fire means for the region

The Grasshopper Fire added to a broader wildfire season across the western United States, and its position near a major population center and iconic recreation area amplified its impact. Smoke degraded air quality across the Portland metropolitan area at times, a health concern that extends the reach of a fire far beyond its burning perimeter.

With containment still limited and the fire continuing to grow in mid-August, the immediate priorities remained protecting threatened homes, holding key lines, and keeping the public out of the closed forest. The full extent of the damage, and the timeline for reopening the affected stretches of the Mount Hood National Forest, will depend on how quickly crews can bring the sprawling blaze under control as the dry season continues.

This article was produced with AI assistance and reviewed by Morning Overview editors.

More from Morning Overview