Current Fire Activity

When you are in the park, if you see flames or smoke, please report it to a wildland fire fighter, any park employee, or call 911. Report your location, the direction of the potential fire, an estimate of how far away it is, and what you see.

 

Sunlight and an ominous cloud interact above the eastern shore of Crater Lake and Phantom Ship. Spruce Lake Fire in 2017.

NPS Photo/2017 Greg Funderburk

Air Quality

If you are visiting the park, or camping near Mazama Village during fire season, beginning mid-July into mid-October, check the air quality before arriving. Additional data from Rim Village is available through AirNow and the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality, or on your OregonAir in your mobile app. See the park webcams for a real time visual on the air quality.

Where to Get Information

The best resource for reviewing the open fire incidents in Crater Lake National Park, South Central Oregon, and northwest Nevada, is SCOFMP, South Central Oregon Fire Management Partnership. SCOFMP is a multiagency collaboration with efficient and effective leadership in regional fire management, with Lakeview Interagency Fire Center dispatching services to those agencies. Incident numbers (Inc #) for all fires within the park boundaries begin with ORCLP. When fires are no longer producing heat or smoke, and have been fully contained and controlled, they are removed for the list. If an incident is large and a specialized fire management team has been assigned to it, information may be found at Inciweb.

Return to Wildland Fire FAQs or Wildlandfire general information.

 

Current Fire Activity and News for
Crater Lake National Park

Information below will be updated only when new information is relevant. This will not be on any regular schedule. Please use the links for air quality and SCOFMP to advise your trip planning. For the local smoke outlook issued by the US Interagency Wildland Fire Air Quality Response Program go to: Crater Lake Smoke Outlooks.

August 29, 2023 Over the weekend, fire incident #290, Scotts Bluff, was discovered. The area has been fully lined and is being monitored. There are no threat to visitors.

August 26, 2023 To date, there have been 17 fires in the park, 15 were started by lightning. Most were less than 1/10 of an acre with several reaching 1/2 acre. Although a few fires still have personnel in attendance, none of the fires have any impact to visitors in the park.

October 3, 2022 Crater Lake National Park Fire Management staff are preparing to implement three prescribed fire projects (press release) in the next few weeks continuing throughout the fall as conditions allow. Weather, fire behavior, and smoke forecasts will be monitored before, during, and after the burns to ensure desired fire effects are achieved. Fire management personnel will patrol and monitor the prescribed fires until they are completely extinguished.

September 21, 2022 The fire danger level within Crater Lake National Park has dropped from Extreme to High due to recent moisture and predicted cooler temperatures. Effective September 22, 2022 at 00:01 am, Crater Lake National Park will rescind the fire ban implemented earlier in July. See the full press release regarding public safety, protection to park resources, and the regulatory provisions which apply to fires within Crater Lake National Park.

September 12, 2022 Air quality has improved dramatically from yesterday. Unexpectedly, heavy smoke from the Cedar Creek Fire (50 miles north) moved in and hung around until evening. Check links on this page for current status of smoke and fire within the park.

September 8, 2022 Yesterday, morning storms included lightning strikes which sparked 2 new fires in the park, neither impact visitors. The Cloudcap fire is .1 acre and is in between East Rim Drive and the road to Cloudcap. This fire is currently contained. The Mt. Scott fire is on the East side of Mt. Scott. This fire is .1 acre. An ODF engine and our MT severity engine got to the fire late yesterday afternoon and secured a line around it. Folks will be hiking to the fire today to secure it.

September 6, 2022 Red Flag Warning, today until 8:00 pm, Heat Advisory today until Wednesday, September 7, and Fire Weather Watch, September 7, 2:00 pm until 11:00 pm

August 30, 2022 Smoke from the Rum Creek Fire along the Rogue River and other regional fires have thus far had minimal impact on air quality in the park but that can change throughout any day. Click to check the region's air quality and read about the Rum Creek Fire.

August 17, 2022 Forecast calls for 40% chance of thunderstorms after 11am today. A heat advisory and Red Flag warning are in effect. Current wildland fire activity does not impact visitors. The park is fully open. There are no closures. Check air quality link above for possible changes in area smoke.

August 10, 2022 No new fire starts in the park and air quality remains good. Nearby Crater Lake National Park, there are closures in portions of the Umpqua, Deschutes, Willamette and Fremont-Winema National Forests. This includes a portion of the PCT north from the Hwy 138 boundary. The full closure order and map is posted on the Umpqua National Forest web page here https://tinyurl.com/58a37mhs.