Critical fire weather east of the Cascades led to multiple new wildfires over the weekend, including one that has destroyed hundreds of homes and forced 60,000 people to evacuate in the Spokane, Washington area.
The Old Trails Fire is seen from Dwight Merkel Sports Complex, Saturday, Aug. 1, 2026, in Spokane, Wash.
Young Kwak / AP
A smaller wildfire near the Central Oregon town of Metolius quickly grew to over 1,000 acres and spurred evacuations as a red flag warning was in effect Saturday for particularly dry and windy conditions.
Now areas west of the Cascades, including much of the Willamette Valley, are starting the week with red flag conditions and looking ahead to possible record-breaking heat, according to the National Weather Service.
From Monday afternoon through evening, the southern Willamette Valley is under a red flag warning for wind gusts up to 40 mph and humidity as low as 20%.
“Conditions may be favorable for rapid fire spread, which may threaten life and property,” the warning reads. “Use extra caution with potential ignition sources, especially in grassy areas. Outdoor burning is not recommended.”
Critical fire weather with similar conditions is expected in the western Columbia River Gorge Tuesday afternoon through Wednesday evening.
Related: See the latest National Weather Service alerts
From Tuesday afternoon through Wednesday night, areas from Longview to Roseburg and from the Coast Range to the Cascade foothills are under a heat advisory, with temperatures forecasted to reach 100 degrees.
A heat advisory will also be in effect from Tuesday morning through Thursday night in Southern Oregon, with temperatures as high as 113 degrees expected in some areas of Curry, Jackson and Josephine counties.
Smoky skies will continue in Central and Eastern Oregon, and they are likely to roll in west of the Cascades as the heat approaches.
“Wildfire smoke is expected to increase west of the Cascades early in the week, which may limit high temperatures by approximately 1-3 degrees,” the National Weather Service advisory reads. “However, temperatures will still be hot enough to bring an increased risk of heat-related illnesses even if temperatures are dampened a few degrees from smoke.”
The Oregon Department of Environmental Quality issued an air quality advisory on Monday for the Portland metro area and for parts of Baker, Clackamas, Crook, Deschutes, Harney, Jefferson, Klamath, Lake, Malheur, Umatilla, Union, Wallowa and Wasco counties, due to smoke from wildfires in the Northwest.
The DEQ expects the air quality advisory to last until at least Tuesday afternoon.
Oregon wildfires had already burned 2,014,481 acres by Monday, according to Carol Connolly with the Northwest Interagency Coordination Center. She said it’s quickly approaching the record set in 2024; that year wildfires burned 2,081,661 acres in Oregon.
