Little Giant Fire

September 1, 2026 · Evening report · Plain, Washington

Data captured Sep 1, 4:12 PM PDT · unofficial & automated — in an emergency use Watch Duty and official alerts, not this page

This is an archived report from September 1, 2026 · Evening. Read the latest brief →

The Sheriff's office touched the two zones nearest the house again at 9:10 AM PDT — Level 1 "Get Ready" (2.0 mi NNE) and Level 3 "Go Now" (3.7 mi NNE) — which trips this tracker's alert rule, but neither boundary actually moved: same distance, same closest point as this morning. Three farther-out zones dropped off the layer entirely, continuing Monday's consolidation pattern. Acreage and containment are flat, air quality improved sharply on PM2.5 even as the headline AQI ticked up, and favorable wind holds ahead of midweek rain.

Evacuation status

The Bennetts' house is outside every evacuation zone.

Nearest zone boundary: Little Giant Level 1 (get ready), 2 mi NNE of the house — boundary last moved Sep 1, 9:10 AM PDT.

Fire size170,640 ac−144 since last report

Contained49%of the perimeter, per NIFC

Nearest fire edge5.2 miNNE of the house · as of Sep 1, 1:01 PM PDT

Satellite heat, 24 h8.8 minearest detection, NNE of the house · 308 in the surrounding ~50 mi

Air quality86 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 Sep 1, 1:01 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

At 9:10 AM PDT the Sheriff's office edited both zones that bracket the house: Level 1 "Get Ready," 2.0 mi NNE, and Level 3 "Go Now," 3.7 mi NNE. That edit is what triggers this tracker's alert condition — any zone edit within 15 mi counts, no exceptions — so Andrew is being emailed separately. But the substance is thin: both zones' distance and closest point are identical to this morning's snapshot, before the edit. This reads as a re-publish or metadata touch, not a boundary redrawn toward the house.

More telling is what disappeared. Three zones present this morning are gone from this afternoon's layer: the duplicate "Little Giant-Level 1" ring at 4.9 mi N, "LG Entiat - Level 3 Go Now" at 8.4 mi ENE, and "LG Chelan - Level 3 Go Now" at 15.1 mi NE. That's a continuation of Monday's pattern, when Level 2 rings folded into single Level 1 polygons and Chelan's Level 1 zone dropped out — consistent with the general-search reporting (via KPQ, unconfirmed by listed sources) that evacuations are being stepped down across all three complexes. Four zones remain: the two above, LG Entiat Level 1 (11.3 mi ENE, unchanged since Aug 31), and Stehekin Level 1 (39.7 mi N, unchanged). The reference point stays outside any mapped zone.

The GIS perimeter now dates Sep 1, 1:01 PM PDT — 170,640 acres, 49% contained, down 144 acres from this morning inside normal snapshot noise, containment flat. InciWeb's Sep 1, 12:11 PM update shows 171,302 acres, also 49% contained, 2,244 personnel — the modest gap is timing, not disagreement. Nearest mapped fire edge holds at 5.2 mi NNE, unchanged. InciWeb also flags "Extreme, Crowning, Long-range Spotting, Uphill Runs" behavior tied to morning thunderstorm outflow winds — see Fire weather below.

lakewenatcheeinfo.com, Lake Chelan Now, and the Chelan County active- emergencies page had nothing to add this cycle (the county page is blocked from this environment; wasmoke.blogspot.com's latest post is dated Aug 31). A general search surfaced nothing dated today beyond the InciWeb figures above; older Little Giant coverage (144,800 acres, 15% contained) still turns up in search but is weeks stale and discarded.

VIIRS logged 308 regional detections in the last 24h, nearest to the house 8.8 mi NNE, FRP 0.99, 11 hours old. All 31 near-Plain clusters are unchanged from this morning: 25 persistent multi-day signatures plus the same 6 single-day detections dating to Aug 26–28 — old heat, not new starts, and nothing crossed into today's window.

What stands between the fire and Plain

Unchanged from this morning: Level 1 "Get Ready" at 2.0 mi NNE, Level 3 "Go Now" at 3.7 mi NNE, and the fire perimeter itself at 5.2 mi NNE. Today's 9:10 AM edit touched the paperwork on the two closer lines but not their position — treat the practical buffer as identical to yesterday until a boundary actually shifts.

Fire weather

No Red Flag Warning. Wind is favorable: NW ~6 mph this afternoon, falling light overnight (NW 5–9 mph, gusts to 18), pushing fire and smoke southeast, away from the house. InciWeb's note on morning thunderstorm outflow winds driving crowning and long-range spotting is a column/plume hazard for firefighting operations, not a wind regime that threatens Plain today — the surface flow stays northwesterly. Rain builds midweek as forecast: 90% Wednesday, 60% Thursday — Thursday's chance is down from the 80% carried in earlier briefs, worth rechecking next cycle.

Air quality

AQI 86 (PM2.5 9.5 µg/m³, PM10 9.8) as of 4 PM — Moderate, and PM2.5 down sharply from this morning's 51.9 even as the headline AQI ticked up from 82. NWS reissued the Air Quality Alert at 11:11 AM PDT, now running through Sep 2, 10:00 AM PDT — a day longer than this morning's version, and the second extension in a row.

Roads: no blocks logged in the GIS layer.

What I'd watch

Whether the 9:10 AM zone edits get a public explanation (county notice or news) confirming they were a re-publish rather than the start of a new boundary move — right now this brief is inferring "no change" purely from matching distances.
Whether the three zones that dropped off the layer today (Entiat and Chelan Level 3, the duplicate Little Giant Level 1) get a formal rescind notice, continuing Monday's consolidation, or reappear.
The InciWeb note on crowning/spotting fire behavior — watch tomorrow's perimeter and VIIRS for whether that activity shows up as growth on the NNE flank facing Plain, or stays contained to other parts of the fire.

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 Giantchanged <24 h	Level 1	2 mi NNE (20°)	Sep 1, 9:10 AM PDT
Little Giantchanged <24 h	Level 3	3.7 mi NNE (16°)	Sep 1, 9:10 AM PDT
LG Entiat	Level 1	11.3 mi ENE (72°)	Aug 31, 8:35 AM PDT
Stehekin	Level 1	39.7 mi N (356°)	Aug 29, 2:02 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 Sep 2, 10:00 AM PDT

This AfternoonNW 6 mphSlight Chance Showers And Thunderstorms · 82°F
TonightNW 5 to 9 mphSlight Chance Showers And Thunderstorms then Mostly Cloudy · 46°F
WednesdaySW 5 mphShowers And Thunderstorms · 69°F
Wednesday NightNW 3 mphRain Showers · 43°F
ThursdayW 1 mphRain Showers Likely · 63°F
Thursday NightW 2 mphChance Rain Showers · 42°F
FridaySW 1 mphRain Showers Likely · 64°F
Friday NightNW 1 mphChance Rain Showers · 43°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

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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.