Little Giant Fire

August 18, 2026 · Morning report · Plain, Washington

Data captured Aug 18, 8:15 AM PDT · unofficial & automated — in an emergency use Watch Duty and official alerts, not this page

This is an archived report from August 18, 2026 · Morning. Read the latest brief →

A quiet cycle: the GIS perimeter grew a modest 1,350 acres to 135,985 (10% contained, unchanged, now matching InciWeb's Aug 18, 10:34 AM figure exactly), with the nearest edge 0.1 mi closer at 7.0 mi N; the house stays inside the Level 1 "Get Ready" zone, unchanged, and no Little Giant zone was edited this cycle. The Chiwawa River Level 3 expansion Chelan County described yesterday still hasn't appeared in the mapped zone layer. Air quality improved to AQI 72, winds stay northwesterly and favorable, and the active Air Quality Alert expires at 10:15 AM today.

Evacuation status

The Bennetts' house is INSIDE Little Giant - Level 1 (Get Ready) (Level 1). Follow official instructions — see the sources below.

Fire size135,985 ac+1,350 since last report

Contained10%of the perimeter, per NIFC

Nearest fire edge7 miN of the house · as of Aug 18, 7:04 AM PDT · −0.1 mi vs last report

Satellite heat, 24 h6.8 minearest detection, N of the house · 532 in the surrounding ~50 mi

Air quality72 AQIModerate · modeled at the house

County road blocksnonelogged by the county · construction delays are in Roads, below

Level 3 — Go now
Level 2 — Get set
Level 1 — Get ready
Fire perimeter
Satellite heat, 24 h (brighter = fresher)
The Bennetts' house

Evacuation zones from the Chelan County Sheriff's live layer; fire perimeter from NIFC as of Aug 18, 7:04 AM PDT. Base geography is hand-plotted and approximate. Rings mark straight-line miles from the house. Containment lines are not mapped — no public GIS source carries them; the brief describes where they are.

The last 24 hours

The house is still inside the Level 1 "Get Ready" zone, unchanged since the Aug 15 redraw. No Little Giant zone was edited this cycle — the only edits anywhere in the layer were the LG Manson Level 1 and Level 2 zones, 23–24 mi away on the lake's north shore, both timestamped yesterday at 10:52 AM, a system-wide republish rather than a Plain-side move.

The GIS perimeter refreshed to Aug 18, 7:04 AM PDT: 135,985 acres, 10% contained, up a modest 1,350 acres (about 1%) from yesterday evening. InciWeb's Aug 18, 10:34 AM update reports the identical 135,985 acres, 10% — the mapped layer and the official incident figure agree exactly, no reconciliation needed. The nearest perimeter edge closed slightly to 7.0 mi N, from 7.1 mi yesterday.

The pending item from last night's report is still pending: the Chelan County evacuation-zone page has not updated past its Aug 17, 3:30 PM revision describing a Level 3 expansion in the Chiwawa River area ("extends south to the Deep Creek and Lower Chiwawa River Road intersection"). The mapped Level 3 zone still shows its last edit at Aug 16, 3:21 PM PDT — no newer timestamp — so this narrative change remains unconfirmed in the only source that sets the brief's boundaries, now more than a full day out from the county's own post. A general search and today's sweep of InciWeb, Lake Chelan Now, and wasmoke.blogspot.com turned up nothing dated Aug 18 beyond what's above; lakewenatcheeinfo.com again returned no usable content (recurring bot-check gap).

VIIRS heat: nearest detection 6.8 mi N (from Aug 17, 19 hours old). The two clusters flagged UNVERIFIED in recent briefs — 6.4 mi N and 6.5 mi NNE — have each now logged a second or third distinct day and are classified persistent, not possible new starts. No new single-day cluster appeared near Plain this cycle.

Fire weather

Favorable and steady: NW 6–10 mph today (gusts to 20), NW 6–9 mph tonight, easing to NW 2–6 mph Wednesday — no north or northeast component toward the Chiwawa or White River drainages anywhere in the forecast. No Red Flag Warning.

Air quality

Improved: modeled AQI is 72 (down from 119 last evening), PM2.5 16 µg/m³ (essentially flat from 15.5). The NWS Spokane Air Quality Alert issued Aug 17 at 10:00 AM remains in effect through 10:15 AM today — worth a glance at whether it's renewed given smoke typically resettles into valleys overnight.

Roads: no new blocks logged.

The plan, decided in advance

If a Level 1 zone reaches the house: confirm go-bags, documents, and medications are staged; keep both vehicles above half a tank; recheck this page and Watch Duty morning and evening.
If Level 2 reaches the house: load the cars, position them facing out, and leave early if anyone is home alone or mobility-limited. Do not wait for Level 3 to decide.
If Level 3 reaches the house — leave immediately: primary route Beaver Valley Rd → SR 207 → US 2; alternate Chumstick Hwy to Leavenworth (mind the pilot-car delays); US 2 west over Stevens Pass if east is compromised.

Default plan drafted from Ready-Set-Go guidance — worth a family walk-through while things are calm. Authorities' instructions override it.

Evacuation zones, measured from the house

Zone	Level	From the house	Boundary last edited
Little Giant	Level 1	INSIDE THIS ZONE	Aug 15, 3:03 PM PDT
Little Giant	Level 2	2 mi NNE (20°)	Aug 16, 3:20 PM PDT
Little Giant	Level 3	3.7 mi NNE (16°)	Aug 16, 3:21 PM PDT
LG Entiat	Level 3	8.4 mi ENE (58°)	Aug 10, 9:31 AM PDT
LG Entiat	Level 2	10.8 mi ESE (104°)	Aug 8, 6:15 PM PDT
LG Entiat	Level 1	12.3 mi ESE (115°)	Aug 8, 5:51 PM PDT
LG Chelan	Level 3	15.1 mi NE (53°)	Aug 16, 3:17 PM PDT
LG Chelan	Level 2	16 mi ENE (76°)	Aug 16, 3:18 PM PDT
LG Chelan	Level 1	17.2 mi E (85°)	Aug 13, 1:33 PM PDT
LG Mansonchanged <24 h	Level 2	23 mi NNE (33°)	Aug 17, 10:52 AM PDT
LG Mansonchanged <24 h	Level 1	23.9 mi NE (42°)	Aug 17, 10:52 AM PDT

Zone geometry comes only from the Sheriff's GIS layer — news descriptions of boundaries have run 10+ days behind the actual polygon edits. Distances are straight-line to the zone boundary.

Wind and weather, next four days

Air Quality Alert — in effect until Aug 18, 10:15 AM PDT

TodayNW 6 to 10 mphPatchy Smoke · 84°F
TonightNW 6 to 9 mphPartly Cloudy · 52°F
WednesdayNW 2 to 6 mphMostly Sunny · 86°F
Wednesday NightNW 6 mphPartly Cloudy · 54°F
ThursdaySW 3 mphSunny · 90°F
Thursday NightNW 3 mphPartly Cloudy · 58°F
FridaySW 1 to 5 mphPartly Sunny then Slight Chance Rain Showers · 88°F
Friday NightSW 5 to 10 mphChance Rain Showers · 53°F

Report history

Report	Fire size (GIS)	Contained	Nearest edge	Zone status
Sep 17 · Evening	172,814 ac	81%	5.2 mi NNE	outside all zones
Sep 17 · Morning	172,814 ac+109	81%	5.2 mi NNE	outside all zones
Sep 16 · Evening	172,705 ac	81%	5.2 mi NNE	outside all zones
Sep 16 · Morning	172,705 ac	81%	5.2 mi NNE	outside all zones
Sep 15 · Evening	172,705 ac	81%	5.2 mi NNE	outside all zones
Sep 15 · Morning	172,705 ac+22	81%	5.2 mi NNE	outside all zones
Sep 14 · Evening	172,683 ac−12	81%	5.2 mi NNE	outside all zones

Previous reports(69)

Sep 14 · Morning	172,695 ac	81%	5.2 mi NNE	outside all zones
Sep 13 · Evening	172,695 ac	81%	5.2 mi NNE	outside all zones
Sep 13 · Morning	172,695 ac	81%	5.2 mi NNE	outside all zones
Sep 12 · Evening	172,695 ac	81%	5.2 mi NNE	outside all zones
Sep 12 · Morning	172,695 ac+103	81%	5.2 mi NNE	outside all zones
Sep 11 · Evening	172,592 ac+191	81%	5.2 mi NNE	outside all zones
Sep 11 · Morning	172,401 ac	81%	5.2 mi NNE	outside all zones
Sep 10 · Evening	172,401 ac+4	81%	5.2 mi NNE	outside all zones
Sep 10 · Morning	172,397 ac+198	81%	5.2 mi NNE	outside all zones
Sep 9 · Evening	172,199 ac+32	81%	5.2 mi NNE	outside all zones
Sep 9 · Morning	172,167 ac+641	81%	5.2 mi NNE	outside all zones
Sep 8 · Morning	171,526 ac+68	81%	5.2 mi NNE	outside all zones
Sep 7 · Evening	171,458 ac	81%	5.2 mi NNE	outside all zones
Sep 7 · Morning	171,458 ac+295	81%	5.2 mi NNE	outside all zones
Sep 6 · Evening	171,163 ac	81%	5.2 mi NNE	outside all zones
Sep 6 · Morning	171,163 ac	81%	5.2 mi NNE	outside all zones
Sep 5 · Evening	171,163 ac	81%	5.2 mi NNE	outside all zones
Sep 5 · Morning	171,163 ac+178	81%	5.2 mi NNE	outside all zones
Sep 4 · Evening	170,985 ac	81%	5.2 mi NNE	outside all zones
Sep 4 · Morning	170,985 ac+17	73%	5.2 mi NNE	outside all zones
Sep 3 · Evening	170,968 ac+213	65%	5.2 mi NNE	outside all zones
Sep 3 · Morning	170,755 ac	65%	5.2 mi NNE	outside all zones
Sep 2 · Evening	170,755 ac+110	49%	5.2 mi NNE	outside all zones
Sep 2 · Morning	170,645 ac+5	49%	5.2 mi NNE	outside all zones
Sep 1 · Evening	170,640 ac−144	49%	5.2 mi NNE	outside all zones
Sep 1 · Morning	170,784 ac	49%	5.2 mi NNE	outside all zones
Aug 31 · Evening	170,784 ac+7,706	49%	5.2 mi NNE	outside all zones
Aug 31 · Morning	163,078 ac−11	49%	5.2 mi NNE	Little Giant - Level 1 (Get Ready)
Aug 30 · Evening	163,089 ac+535	27%	5.2 mi NNE	Little Giant - Level 1 (Get Ready)
Aug 30 · Morning	162,554 ac+14	27%	5.2 mi NNE	Little Giant - Level 1 (Get Ready)
Aug 29 · Evening	162,540 ac+296	27%	5.2 mi NNE	Little Giant - Level 1 (Get Ready)
Aug 29 · Morning	162,244 ac−717	27%	5.2 mi NNE	Little Giant - Level 1 (Get Ready)
Aug 28 · Evening	162,961 ac+1,829	25%	5.2 mi NNE	Little Giant - Level 1 (Get Ready)
Aug 28 · Morning	161,132 ac+11,271	25%	5.2 mi NNE	Little Giant - Level 1 (Get Ready)
Aug 27 · Evening	149,861 ac	23%	5.2 mi NNE	Little Giant - Level 1 (Get Ready)
Aug 27 · Morning	149,861 ac	23%	5.2 mi NNE	Little Giant - Level 1 (Get Ready)
Aug 26 · Evening	149,861 ac+2,235	23%	5.2 mi NNE	Little Giant - Level 1 (Get Ready)
Aug 26 · Morning	147,626 ac	23%	5.2 mi NNE	Little Giant - Level 1 (Get Ready)
Aug 25 · Evening	147,626 ac+1,584	21%	5.2 mi NNE	Little Giant - Level 1 (Get Ready)
Aug 25 · Morning	146,042 ac	21%	5.2 mi NNE	Little Giant - Level 1 (Get Ready)
Aug 24 · Evening	146,042 ac+1,212	15%	5.2 mi NNE	Little Giant - Level 1 (Get Ready)
Aug 24 · Morning	144,830 ac	15%	5.2 mi NNE	Little Giant - Level 1 (Get Ready)
Aug 23 · Evening	144,830 ac+2,604	15%	5.2 mi NNE	Little Giant - Level 1 (Get Ready)
Aug 23 · Morning	142,226 ac	15%	5.3 mi NE	Little Giant - Level 1 (Get Ready)
Aug 22 · Evening	142,226 ac+8	15%	5.3 mi NE	Little Giant - Level 1 (Get Ready)
Aug 22 · Morning	142,218 ac+2,731	15%	5.3 mi NE	Little Giant - Level 1 (Get Ready)
Aug 21 · Evening	139,487 ac	12%	6.6 mi N	Little Giant - Level 1 (Get Ready)
Aug 21 · Morning	139,487 ac+910	12%	6.6 mi N	Little Giant - Level 1 (Get Ready)
Aug 20 · Evening	138,577 ac+102	12%	6.6 mi N	Little Giant - Level 1 (Get Ready)
Aug 20 · Morning	138,475 ac+882	12%	6.6 mi N	Little Giant - Level 1 (Get Ready)
Aug 19 · Evening	137,593 ac+299	10%	6.7 mi N	Little Giant - Level 1 (Get Ready)
Aug 19 · Morning	137,294 ac+1,309	10%	6.8 mi N	Little Giant - Level 1 (Get Ready)
Aug 18 · Evening	135,985 ac	10%	7 mi N	Little Giant - Level 1 (Get Ready)
Aug 18 · Morning	135,985 ac+1,350	10%	7 mi N	Little Giant - Level 1 (Get Ready)
Aug 17 · Evening	134,635 ac+2,284	10%	7.1 mi N	Little Giant - Level 1 (Get Ready)
Aug 17 · Morning	132,351 ac	10%	7.3 mi N	Little Giant - Level 1 (Get Ready)
Aug 16 · Evening	132,351 ac	10%	7.3 mi N	Little Giant - Level 1 (Get Ready)
Aug 16 · Morning	132,351 ac+4,266	10%	7.3 mi N	Little Giant - Level 1 (Get Ready)
Aug 15 · Evening	128,085 ac	10%	8.1 mi N	Little Giant - Level 1 (Get Ready)
Aug 15 · Morning	128,085 ac	10%	8.1 mi N	outside all zones
Aug 14 · Evening	128,085 ac	7%	8.1 mi N	outside all zones
Aug 14 · Morning	128,085 ac−219	7%	8.1 mi N	outside all zones
Aug 13 · Evening	128,304 ac+533	5%	8.1 mi N	outside all zones
Aug 13 · Morning	127,771 ac+283	5%	8.1 mi N	outside all zones
Aug 12 · Evening	127,488 ac	5%	8.6 mi NNW	outside all zones
Aug 12 · Morning	127,488 ac+5,087	5%	8.6 mi NNW	outside all zones
Aug 11 · Evening	122,401 ac	2%	8.6 mi NNW	outside all zones
Aug 11 · Morning	122,401 ac+5,445	2%	8.6 mi NNW	outside all zones
Aug 10 · Evening	116,956 ac	2%	8.6 mi NNW	outside all zones

Sources

Previous briefs

Full archive →

The limits of this page

This page is an automated, unofficial synthesis and can be wrong or stale. It is not a substitute for official alerts. For live evacuation status use Watch Duty, Chelan County Emergency Management, and Everbridge alerts. In an emergency, follow instructions from local authorities.