Little Giant Fire

August 23, 2026 · Morning report · Plain, Washington

Data captured Aug 23, 8:10 AM PDT · unofficial & automated — in an emergency use Watch Duty and official alerts, not this page

This is an archived report from August 23, 2026 · Morning. Read the latest brief →

The house remains inside the Level 1 "Get Ready" zone, unchanged since Aug 15, on an otherwise flat cycle — the GIS perimeter is unchanged at 142,226 acres and 15% contained, nearest edge still 5.3 mi NE. InciWeb's overnight sitrep describes much more active fire behavior than recent updates, though the mapped numbers haven't moved yet. A new single-detection heat cluster appeared 6.1 mi NE, unverified. Air quality stayed unhealthy; winds stay favorable today before a light shift out of the northeast Monday.

Evacuation status

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

Fire size142,226 acGIS perimeter of Aug 22, 2:59 PM PDT

Contained15%of the perimeter, per NIFC

Nearest fire edge5.3 miNE of the house · as of Aug 22, 2:59 PM PDT

Satellite heat, 24 h5.3 minearest detection, NNE of the house · 732 in the surrounding ~50 mi

Air quality171 AQIUnhealthy · 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 22, 2:59 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 three Entiat-side zone edits from yesterday afternoon (covered in last night's brief) carried no further changes overnight — no zones were edited between that run and this one.

The GIS perimeter has not refreshed since yesterday afternoon: still 142,226 acres, 15% contained, dated Aug 22, 2:59 PM PDT, nearest edge flat at 5.3 mi NE. InciWeb's Aug 22, 11:00 PM update carries a close acreage figure (142,218 / 15%) but a notably more active fire-behavior description than recent cycles — "extreme, crowning, long-range spotting, uphill runs," with morning thunderstorms triggering "rapid increases in fire activity and significant column development" and afternoon wind shifts producing "torching and spotting." That's a sharper characterization than the "variable... primarily surface fire" language in Saturday's updates, though it isn't tied to a location and the mapped perimeter and containment haven't moved. Worth watching whether it shows up as actual growth in today's afternoon GIS refresh. The evacuation note in that update is boilerplate about Entiat River Road level reductions, already reflected in the zone layer.

VIIRS logged 732 detections in the region over the last 24 hours. The two near-Plain clusters flagged yesterday, 5.2 mi NNE and 5.6 mi NNE, now each have a second day of detections (29 and 23 total) and read as confirmed — almost certainly the fire's own leading edge, not new starts. A new cluster appeared this morning at 6.1 mi NE: a single detection, low intensity (FRP 1.72), UNVERIFIED — no second day yet, and no news source mentions anything new in that direction. lakewenatcheeinfo.com returned no usable content again this cycle; Lake Chelan Now's most recent post is still Thursday's community-meeting notice. A general search surfaced only older articles (below today's acreage) — nothing dated today. The Chelan County active-emergencies page was unreachable from this environment (network policy, not a data failure).

Fire weather

Wind stays NW 9–13 mph, gusts to 21, through today — pushing the fire east, away from Plain. Tonight calms to NW 1–9 mph. Monday the wind backs to NE, 1–5 mph — the danger-signal direction, though light enough that it's unlikely to matter on its own. No Red Flag Warning currently posted.

Air quality

AQI 171 (PM2.5 24.6 µg/m3) as of 8 AM — improved from last night's 179 but still well into unhealthy territory. NWS's Air Quality Alert for Chelan, Douglas, and Okanogan counties runs through Aug 23, 3:00 PM.

Roads: no blocks logged.

What I'd watch

This afternoon's GIS refresh — whether InciWeb's more active fire-behavior language shows up as real acreage growth or a nearest-edge move, or stays just a wording difference.
The new 6.1 mi NE cluster — a second day of detections would confirm it as more of the fire's edge; if it stays single-day it's likely noise.
Monday's NE wind — light, but the first northeast-component forecast in this stretch; worth a look at Monday morning's AFD for anything firmer.

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 22, 1:43 PM PDT
Little Giantchanged <24 h	Level 1	9.3 mi E (89°)	Aug 22, 3:31 PM PDT
LG Entiatchanged <24 h	Level 2	11.3 mi ENE (72°)	Aug 22, 3:31 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

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 23, 3:00 PM PDT

TodayNW 9 to 13 mphSunny · 73°F
TonightNW 1 to 9 mphMostly Clear · 48°F
MondayNE 1 to 5 mphSunny · 84°F
Monday NightNE 0 to 3 mphMostly Clear · 54°F
TuesdayE 1 to 5 mphSunny · 90°F
Tuesday NightNW 0 to 5 mphPartly Cloudy · 55°F
WednesdayNW 2 to 10 mphSunny · 85°F
Wednesday NightNW 10 mphPartly Cloudy · 49°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.