Ptarmigan Fire Active 2026

The Ptarmigan Fire was discovered on July 17th, 2026. That morning it was called in by a member of the public and Goat Peak Lookout, and confirmed by a reconnaissance flight over the Pasayten Wilderness. It is located 20 miles NW of Mazama, Washington, near the Canadian border. It is burning in the old Tatoosh fire area. Smokejumpers staffed the fire on July 18th, and have conducted historic structure protection in the area. An Okanogan-Wenatchee Type 3 team was assigned to manage the fire on July 25th, 2026 after significant growth occurred. The fire moved southward to burn around the Pasayten Airstrip and became established in the Middle Fork Pasayten River drainage, progressing toward Point Defiance. The northern section burned across the Canadian border in two places to the east of Monument 83 historic lookout. Cooler, wet weather returned on August 29 and has persisted moderating fire behavior and activity. The Ptarmigan Fire will be transitioned to a Type 5 organization (local Methow Valley Ranger District) at 8:30 a.m. Sunday, September 5 at 0830. Suppression repair plans are under development.

Evacuations: There are no current evacuations in place for this fire. For more information on evacuations, please visit the Okanogan County Emergency Management page. https://www.okanogancounty.gov/1861/ACTIVE-INCIDENTS