Mt. Hood Meadows Shares Startling Photos From Grasshopper Fire
The wildfire that burned near Mt. Hood, Oregon, this summer is almost contained, nearly two months after a lightning strike started the blaze. As of September 21, 2026, the Grasshopper Fire, which burned 93,971 acres across Clackamas, Hood River, and Wasco Counties, was at 98% containment.
Although the fire is not completely out, parts of Mt. Hood and Wasco Counties that spent much of the end of summer under Level 3 Evacuation notices have been reduced to Level 1 and the smoke has largely cleared.
On the eastern side of Mt. Hood, Mt. Hood Meadows was significantly impacted by the fire and was forced to end summer operations early due to smoke and evacuation orders. The ski area hosted a camp for folks working to contain the Grasshopper and Austin fires. Firefighters have been camped in the Main lot, Twilight lot, and North Lodge at Mt. Hood Meadows for the last month.
With the smoke mostly settled, so to speak, Mt. Hood Meadows recently shared photos from the fire on their social media pages. In the images, plumes of smoke and flames can be seen around the resort and over Highway 35. The highway closed intermittently during the fire, but the blaze never actually crossed it thanks to the hard work of the fire crews.
A screenshot in the post also shows the Air Quality Index (AQI) at the base of the ski area at 500 in the early days of the fire.
Luckily, the fire perimeter never reached the ski area. Although the summer season was impacted by the Grasshopper Fire, Mt. Hood Meadows was ultimately unharmed. Given the severity of the fire season in Oregon, which burned more than 2.3 million acres throughout the state, and across the rest of the US, where ski areas like Eagle Point and Maverick Mountain sustained massive damage, Meadows got pretty lucky.
Cooler temperatures have rolled into the PNW over the last few weeks, and even left dustings of snow at higher elevations on Mt. Hood. Mt. Hood Meadows is planning to open for the winter season on December 4, 2026, conditions permitting.
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