July 28, 2025
ODF Incident Management Teams
- Team 2 is on rotation.
- Team 3 is on call.
- Team 1 is on rest.
There are approximately 416 personnel assigned to the 3 large fires across the state, not including many of the local and agency government employees, landowners, forestland operators, and members of the community who are contributing every day.
Initial attack remains ODF’s top priority to keep wildfires small.
ODF Highlight: Ever curious about the difference between a fire watch and a red flag warning? Enjoy this easy analogy as we move into several red flag warnings and fire weather watches this week across Oregon. For up-to-date fire weather alerts, follow your regional National Weather Service Facebook page.
Weather: High pressure centered over the Intermountain Region will expand west during the first half of the week. This will result in a warming trend and increasing thunderstorm activity from the Cascade crest eastward. Locally, heavy showers can be expected with some storms Wednesday and Thursday, especially over central and south central Oregon. Some storms Tuesday and Wednesday could drift over the west slopes of the Cascades. Onshore flow strengthens late in the week, gradually reducing the thunderstorm threat. General winds are expected to be near normal over the next few days, but gusty erratic winds can be expected near thunderstorms. Breezy to windy conditions are likely to develop in the central Gorge, Columbia Basin and through the Cascade gaps late in the week and continue through the weekend.
Prevention: Check the fire regulations of the areas where you live, work and play, and follow all local restrictions on burning, equipment use, campfires and other activities that can start wildfires. Find danger levels and restrictions across the state here.
Resources
July 23, 2025
This is the final update from ODF incident Management Team 1 for the Elk and Hagelstein fires in Klamath County
BONANZA, Ore. Containment and mop-up for the Elk and Hagelstein fires has been increasing steadily, the Elk Fire is 95% contained and Hagelstein reached 75%. Today at 6:00 pm Oregon Department of Forestry Incident Management Team 1 will transfer command of the fires back to local agencies. Over the last 14 days, crews have worked incredibly hard to ensure that remaining work is manageable by local resources. With the Klamath community at the forefront of their efforts, crews were able to minimize the impacts of these fires.
At the peak of this incident about 1,300 personnel worked on this fire, from boots on the ground to the camp crew; each person made an impact on the outcome of the Elk and Hagelstein fires. In addition to both fires, crews responded to eight initial attack fires in Lake County and one initial attack in Klamath County.
Team 1 would like to extend their thanks to community partners including private landowners, Klamath County Sheriff’s Office, Klamath County Commissioners, Klamath Tribes, Green Diamond Resource Company, Murphy Timber, Pacific Power, and the Oregon Department of Transportation. The team would also like to thank the town of Bonanza and the surrounding community for their continued support throughout the incident.
The Fremont-Winema National Forest closure remains in effect. Please check with the Forest service website for future updates. The closure area maps are available at https://www.fs.usda.gov/r06/fremont-winema/alerts.
FIRE AT A GLANCE
Elk Fire
Total size: 2,637 acres
Total containment: 95%
Cause: Under Investigation
Hagelstein Fire
Total size: 669 acres
Total containment: 75%
Cause: Under Investigation
Evacuations
Klamath County Sheriff’s Office has lifted all evacuation notices for the Elk Fire. Information is available here: https://protect.genasys.com/search
Fire Restrictions
ODF:www.oregon.gov/odf/fire/pages/restrictions.aspx
SCOFMP: www.scofmp.org
Elk Fire Resources
Hand crews: 3
Engines: 12
Water tenders: 7
Heavy equipment: 9
Total personnel: 216
Hagelstein Fire Resources
Hand crews: 11
Engines: 15
Water tenders: 14
Heavy equipment: 9
Total personnel: 322
Helicopters for both fires: 4
ODF Incident Commander:
Dan Quinones
Incident Management – Team 1
July 22, 2025
BONANZA, Ore. Favorable conditions exist as firefighters complete their final mop up operations on the Hagelstein Fire. An Infrared (IR) flight took place overnight showing very little heat, most of which is isolated in a few small pockets on the fire. The largest pocket of heat is located on the west side, where firefighters will be focusing their efforts to extinguish hot spots in that location. The remainder of the fire has completed mop up to a depth of 150-250ft and crews are removing hose as needed.
On the Elk Fire, firefighters are performing final gridding for hot spots and are in the process of pulling the remainder of hose off the line. The entire fire will be placed in patrol status on Wednesday.
The weather across the region will be transitioning into more unstable, warming conditions with a chance of afternoon thunderstorms Tuesday through Friday. Crews will be on the lookout for any new starts.
The Oregon Department of Forestry Incident Management Team 1 prepares for demobilization later in the week. Incident Commander Dan Quinones states, “We are confident that the fires are in a good place to release back to the local agencies.”
As we move further into fire season, we ask the public to be prepared by having an emergency plan in place, ensuring their properties are defensible against wildfires, and staying informed about local fire conditions and regulations to help prevent potential disasters.
The Fremont-Winema National Forest closure remains in effect. Please check with the Forest service website for future updates. The closure area maps are available at https://www.fs.usda.gov/r06/fremont-winema/alerts.
FIRE AT A GLANCE
Elk Fire
Total size: 2,637 acres
Total Containment: 90%
Cause: Under Investigation
Hagelstein Fire
Total size: 669 acres
Total Containment: 62%
Cause: Under investigation
Evacuations
Klamath County Sheriff’s Office has lifted all evacuation notices for the Elk Fire. Information is available here: https://protect.genasys.com/search
Fire Restrictions
ODF:www.oregon.gov/odf/fire/pages/restrictions.aspx
SCOFMP: www.scofmp.org
Elk Fire Resources
Hand crews: 5
Engines: 14
Water tenders: 11
Heavy equipment: 11
Total personnel: 266
Hagelstein Fire Resources
Hand Crews: 11
Engines: 16
Water Tenders: 14
Heavy Equipment: 21
Total Personnel: 353
Helicopters for both fires: 4
ODF Incident Commander:
Dan Quinones
Incident Management – Team 1
July 21, 2025
ODF Incident Management Teams
- Team 3 is in command of several lightning fires and the Board Shanty Fire in the Southwest Oregon District. Follow the district’s Facebook page for updates. Team 3 will be transferring command back to the district tomorrow, July 22, at 7 a.m.
- Team 1 is in command of the Elk Fire and the Hagelstein Fire (Klamath-Lake District). Follow the incident’s Facebook page for updates.
- Team 2 is on rotation.
ODF Priority Fires
| FIRE NAME |
TOTAL ACRES |
ODF ACRES |
CONTAINMENT |
LOCATION |
COMMAND |
| Cram |
95,748 |
7,395 |
73% |
15 miles N of Madras |
OSFM Green Team /
NW Team 10 |
| Elk |
2,637 |
685 |
88% |
7 miles SW of Beatty |
ODF IMT 1 |
| Hagelstein |
669 |
17 |
45% |
4 miles SE of
Modoc Point |
ODF IMT 1 |
| SWO Lightning Fires |
887 |
887 |
90% |
Jackson and Josephine County |
ODF IMT 3 |
| Board Shanty |
469 |
469 |
14% |
1 mile S of
Grants Pass |
ODF IMT 3 |
There are approximately 2,975 personnel assigned to the 7 large fires across the state, not including many of the local and agency government employees, landowners, forestland operators, and members of the community who are contributing every day.
Initial attack remains ODF’s top priority to keep wildfires small.
ODF Highlight: If you see the start of a fire and can provide information, eye-witness statements, video, photos or any other data, you can assist investigators by emailing them to odf.firetips@odf.oregon.gov.
This information helps our investigators in creating a full picture of what happened and identifying a responsible party if there is one.
Weather: An upper-level trough over the region will keep temperatures cooler than usual and lead to showers and wet thundershowers mainly over sections of eastern Washington today as well as creating areas of rain and showers over sections of eastern Oregon. Rain and showers will continue Tuesday and diminish on Wednesday as the upper trough moves eastward. General winds will continue to decrease east of the Cascades today and Tuesday as the cooler temperatures linger over the area. Drying returns later in the work week.
Prevention: Check the fire regulations of the areas where you live, work and play, and follow all local restrictions on burning, equipment use, campfires and other activities that can start wildfires. Find danger levels and restrictions across the state here.
Resources
July 18, 2025
Bonanza, Ore. Very warm temperatures and dry conditions continue over the Elk and Hagelstein fires. Strong wind gusts are expected to reach 15 to 25 mph in the afternoon, keeping firefighters on the lookout for falling snags and any changes in fire behavior.
On the Elk Fire crews continue to increase the mop-up depth of the fire’s perimeter using infrared (IR) flights and palm IR to identify and eliminate hot spots. Firefighter efforts have widened containment lines to a depth of 150 feet or more throughout the fire. Additionally, crews have begun suppression repair work to prevent erosion and runoff. Improvements in mapping data reduced the total acreage for the Elk Fire.
Yesterday on the east side of the Hagelstein Fire, the handline completed by night shift held strong preventing the fire from crossing the fireline. Operations continue to strengthen all fire control lines by increasing the depth of mop-up and removing snags that have the potential to fall or roll beyond the fire’s perimeter. Additionally, fire crews are performing fuel reduction and grading on roads to strengthen contingency lines and improve access for firefighters.
Oregon Department of Forestry’s Team 1 is grateful for the cooperation with the local communities, industrial timber owners, private businesses, Oregon Department of Transportation, public utilities, Klamath County Fire Districts 3 and 5, the Klamath County Sheriff, and local and federal government agencies that have been essential for the successes accomplished by this team.
Areas of smoke can be expected in the Klamath Basin from local and regional wildfires, air quality may be unhealthy for sensitive groups at times. Visit https://www.oregonsmoke.org/ for air quality information and ways to reduce impacts from wildfire smoke.
On Thursday the Klamath County Sheriff changed evacuation levels around the Elk Fire. For the latest evacuation information, please visit: https://protect.genasys.com/search
A temporary flight restriction remains in place Federal Aviation Administration – Graphic TFRs over both incidents.
