Little Giant Fire

August 21, 2026 · Morning report · Plain, Washington

Data captured Aug 21, 8:14 AM PDT · unofficial & automated — in an emergency use Watch Duty and official alerts, not this page

This is an archived report from August 21, 2026 · Morning. Read the latest brief →

Another quiet cycle: the Bennetts' house stays inside the Level 1 "Get Ready" zone, unchanged since Aug 15, with the GIS perimeter up a modest 910 acres to 139,487 and containment flat at 12%. InciWeb describes extreme fire behavior overnight, but it's all on branches away from Plain. The Fire Weather Watch for Saturday into Sunday was reissued and confirmed, with gusty, thunderstorm-prone winds the thing to watch this weekend.

Evacuation status

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

Fire size139,487 ac+910 since last report

Contained12%of the perimeter, per NIFC

Nearest fire edge6.6 miN of the house · as of Aug 20, 7:29 PM PDT

Satellite heat, 24 h6.5 minearest detection, NNE of the house · 1164 in the surrounding ~50 mi

Air quality59 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 20, 7:29 PM 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 remains inside the Level 1 "Get Ready" zone, unchanged since the Aug 15 redraw. Level 2 "Get Set" holds at 2.0 mi NNE and Level 3 "Go Now" at 3.7 mi NNE, both untouched since Aug 16. The Entiat-side zones (Level 2 at 9.3 mi E, Level 3 at 8.4 mi ENE) also carry no new edit since yesterday's redraw — still well outside the 15 mi range that matters for Plain.

The GIS perimeter refreshed to Aug 20, 7:29 PM PDT: 139,487 acres, 12% contained, up a modest 910 acres, containment flat. InciWeb's Aug 21, 12:21 AM update carries a slightly lower 138,475 acres, 12% — a minor lag, not a real conflict. InciWeb describes overnight fire behavior as "extreme, crowning, long-range spotting, uphill runs," with active spread on the ridge above Twin Lakes, Cougar Mountain, and Stormy/Baldy Mountains — all on branches away from the Plain-facing side. The nearest perimeter edge held exactly flat at 6.6 mi N.

VIIRS: nearest detection 6.5 mi NNE within the last 24h. The cluster at 6.8 mi NNE flagged UNVERIFIED in last night's brief now has a second calendar day of detections (Aug 20 and 21, 20 hits total) and reads as persistent background heat, not a new start. Two new single-day clusters appeared further out — 9.5 mi N and 9.8 mi NNE (4 detections each, low intensity) — flagged UNVERIFIED, carrying to tomorrow, and well outside the 15 mi threshold either way.

The Chelan County evacuation-zone page is still on its Aug 17, 3:30 PM post describing the Chiwawa Level 3 expansion — now more than four days stale. Lake Chelan Now's latest post repeats the community meeting notice (Tuesday, 6:30 PM, Lake Wenatchee Recreation Club). lakewenatcheeinfo.com did not return usable content this cycle. A general search surfaced only older articles.

Fire weather

NWS Spokane reissued the Fire Weather Watch, confirming Saturday 11 AM through Sunday 8 AM, tied to a pattern change bringing thunderstorms and gusty winds. Today is light and mixed — S 0–3 mph, shifting to N ~3 mph tonight — both weak enough not to matter. Saturday's forecast wind is NW 3–14 mph, gusts to 23 mph, which pushes the fire east, away from Plain, but arrives with a 50% chance of thunderstorms — the day to watch for outflow behavior. A Heat Advisory also runs today, 11 AM–10 PM.

Air quality

Mixed: AQI 59 (down from 62 yesterday afternoon), but PM2.5 jumped to 35.2 µg/m3 this morning as overnight smoke settled — consistent with NWS's forecast of "areas of smoke" before 11 AM. The Air Quality Alert was renewed, now running through 2:00 PM PDT today.

Roads: no 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 Entiatchanged <24 h	Level 3	8.4 mi ENE (58°)	Aug 20, 2:58 PM PDT
LG Entiatchanged <24 h	Level 2	9.3 mi E (89°)	Aug 20, 2:58 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 19, 12:57 PM PDT
LG Chelan	Level 1	17.2 mi E (85°)	Aug 19, 12:57 PM PDT
LG Manson	Level 2	23 mi NNE (33°)	Aug 17, 10:52 AM PDT
LG Manson	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

Fire Weather Watch — in effect until Aug 23, 8:00 AM PDT

Heat Advisory — in effect until Aug 21, 10:00 PM PDT

Air Quality Alert — in effect until Aug 21, 2:00 PM PDT

TodayS 0 to 3 mphAreas Of Smoke then Haze · 93°F
TonightN 3 mphPatchy Smoke then Chance Rain Showers · 62°F
SaturdayNW 3 to 14 mphChance Showers And Thunderstorms · 85°F
Saturday NightNW 7 to 14 mphPartly Cloudy · 51°F
SundayW 7 to 10 mphSunny · 74°F
Sunday NightNW 2 to 10 mphMostly Clear · 48°F
MondayNW 3 mphSunny · 84°F
Monday NightN 0 to 3 mphMostly Clear · 54°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.