Fire spewing smoke into the Boise area balloons to nearly 300,000 acres

Sally Krutzig, The Idaho Statesman on Jul 28, 2026

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BOISE, Idaho — A wildfire along the Oregon-Idaho border has swelled in size, prompting officials to close popular recreation areas in Owyhee County.

The National Interagency Fire Center updated the Big Grass fire to 288,119 acres on Tuesday. Just 5% of the wildfire had been contained with 135 personnel, 14 engines and seven dozers working on it, according to a news release from the California Interagency Incident Management Team 5 that arrived in Vale, Oregon, on Monday to take over command.

The Big Grass fire is located in Malheur and Owyhee counties near Jordan Valley. It’s a significant source of the smoke blanketing the Boise area.

The spread of the fire caused the Bureau of Land Management Owyhee Field Office to temporarily close the entire area south of Trout Creek and Silver City roads to the East Fork and main stem of the Owyhee River, as well as the area east of the Oregon border to highways 78 and 51.

This closure, which will go into effect at 8 p.m. Tuesday, will not affect private land.

The Bureau of Land Management said its employees and law enforcement would be monitoring the area to ensure people comply with the closure.

The Big Grass fire spread quickly on Monday, according to the fire management team.

“Yesterday, the fire, which is burning in brush and grass, exhibited extreme behavior with rapid rates of spread, particularly in the afternoon when the winds picked up,” the management team said in a statement. Suppression efforts will remain focused on limiting fire growth while protecting threatened communities, residences, livestock, and critical infrastructure.”

Crews focused Tuesday on identifying and establishing “effective anchor points to secure containment lines ahead of the advancing fire,” the management team said. The fire management team said Tuesday’s priorities included reducing the threat to Silver City, areas to the northeast of Jordan Creek and southeast near the North Fork of the Owyhee River.

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