Grasshopper Fire Crews Built 331 Miles of Fireline and Roads During Two-Month Fight
By Joshuah Albert
The Dalles, Ore., Sept. 18, 2026 — Firefighters built or prepared 331 miles of dozer lines, hand lines, roads and fuel breaks during the nearly two-month battle against the Grasshopper Fire, an enormous suppression footprint that crews will continue repairing even as the 93,966-acre wildfire sits at 98% containment.
The figures released Friday provide a new measure of the scale of the firefighting operation that began after lightning sparked the fire July 23.
Crews constructed 150 miles of dozer line and 20 miles of hand line, while another 150 miles of existing roads were prepared to serve as fireline. Firefighters also created six miles of mixed hand, road and machine line and five miles of shaded fuel breaks.
Combined, those efforts totaled 331 miles.
Ultimately, 104 miles of that work became part of the final containment line around the Grasshopper Fire.
The remaining footprint helps explain why suppression repair is expected to continue well after the immediate threat from the wildfire subsides.
Repair work could continue for days
Crews continued extinguishing pockets of heat Thursday along the western edge of the fire and in the Boulder Creek drainage on the southwest corner.
Boulder Creek has remained the last uncontained portion of the fire, where steep terrain, hazardous trees, difficult access, and pockets of burned and unburned fuels have complicated firefighters' efforts.
Elsewhere, suppression repair on private and state property is nearing completion.
Hand crews are digging drainage channels into dozer lines too steep for heavy equipment and repairing another dozer line near Pine Creek.
Excavator operators are clearing culverts and ditches in preparation for winter precipitation, while chipping operations continue along numerous forest roads.
Fire officials said extensive fireline repair, hazardous-tree removal and cleanup of woody debris and logs are expected to continue for many days.
Efforts are also underway to reopen Camp Baldwin, a private Scouting America property that firefighters successfully protected from fire damage.
New team takes command
Friday also marks another transition in management of the Grasshopper Fire.
Northwest Complex Incident Management Team 10 is completing its final working day on the Grasshopper, Austin and The Narrows fires.
California Interagency Incident Management Team 2 is scheduled to assume command of the three fires at 6 p.m. Friday.
Northwest Team 10 thanked local communities for their support and assistance during its assignment.
The transition comes as staffing on the Grasshopper Fire continues to decline. A total of 202 personnel remain assigned to the fire, down from more than 1,000 during earlier stages of the incident.
Containment remains at 98%, unchanged from Thursday, and acreage remains at 93,966.
Slightly cooler temperatures and light winds are expected Friday, although humidity levels are continuing to decline.
Evacuation notices remain in effect in portions of Hood River and Wasco counties, and a Mt. Hood National Forest closure remains in place. Fire restrictions also remain in effect.
Although much of the work has shifted from active suppression to repair, firefighters continue to caution motorists that crews and heavy equipment are traveling roads throughout the fire area.
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