Cooler temperatures and mostly smoke-free skies in recent days provided a much-needed break for wildland fire crews battling dozens of fires across the state.

But conditions remain dry, and fire officials remain vigilant for new fire starts.

The largest new incident of concern for Central Oregon was the 260-acre Ochoco Fire, which started over the weekend in Jefferson County near Haystack Reservoir. Kaitlyn Webb, a spokesperson for Central Oregon Fire Info, said forward progression of the fire was halted on Sunday night but containment was at 0%. Helicopters were dipping into the lake for water to extinguish the blaze. There were no reports of damaged structures.

Katy Branham, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Pendleton, said the weather outlook will improve smoke conditions across the state this week. The next opportunity for rain showers begins Tuesday afternoon and evening and then again Wednesday night.

“Showers will then remain a part of the forecast through Saturday evening,” said Branham. “Isolated thunderstorms are in the forecast for Thursday afternoon and evening, and again on Friday.”

As of Monday morning, air quality across the state was in the green, or good, category. The only region of severely poor air quality in the country on Monday was north of Boise, Idaho, where much of the Boise National Forest was seeing air-quality levels over 150. Some areas of the forest were over 400 on the air-quality index.

There are 18 uncontained large fires burning in Oregon, according to the Northwest Interagency Coordination Center. So far this year the state has experienced 1,428 fires that have burned a record-breaking 1.5 million acres.

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But the cooler temperature and recent rain are giving the Oregon Department of Forestry a chance to make progress on these fires, said Jessica Neujahr, a spokesperson for the department.

“(We are) in the process of rightsizing our operations and taking advantage of the moderating weather. It’s difficult to say if the worst is behind us with September coming up, but the agency is prepared to scale back up our operations if conditions worsen,” she said.

Current fires in Oregon

The following are a few of the major wildfires burning in the Cascades and Eastern Oregon.

• Red Fire: The 730-acre Red Fire is burning 5 miles west of Crescent Lake Junction in Klamath County. This lightning-caused fire started on July 17 and remains zero percent contained. The fire is burning in the Diamond Peak Wilderness of the Deschutes National Forest on the southwest slope of Redtop Mountain. Firefighters are creating several shaded fuel breaks to protect infrastructure. One break runs from Odell Lake to the Crescent Lake Snowpark. An emergency closure is in place around Crescent Lake and in the Diamond Peak Wilderness. Forest Road 60 is closed. Crescent Lake, Odell Lake and Crescent Junction have Level 1—Be Ready evacuation orders.

• Battle Mountain Complex: The complex of multiple fires has burned 183,026 acres near Ukiah in Eastern Oregon. Containment was 94%, and the cost to fight the fire has reached $79 million. Fire danger in the area remains high, but the number of personnel will be reduced due to near containment. Residents may see increased traffic in the coming days as crews leave the incident. Evacuations for this fire in Grant, Morrow and Umatilla counties have been lifted.

• Willamette Complex South: This complex of seven fires has burned 13,005 acres in the Cascades between Detroit and Oakridge. Weekend rain helped crews slow the progress of the fires. Moderate fire behavior is expected this week, with smoldering, creeping and occasional single-tree torching. The fires have created some closures on the Willamette National Forest. Temporary barricades are in place to restrict traffic in closure areas.

• Willamette Complex North: This complex includes the Ore and Pyramid fires. No significant movement on either fire has been seen in recent days. Crews are taking advantage of wetter fuel conditions to secure containment lines. The Ore Fire near Blue River has burned 3,132 acres and was 14% contained. The Pyramid Fire has burned 1,320 acres and was 76% contained. Closures in areas near the fires remain in place.

• Crazy Creek Fire: As of Monday, this fire in eastern Crook County, 5 miles north of Paulina, had consumed 86,955 acres and was 93% contained. Firefighters continue to patrol hotspots and the fire’s perimeter. Crews are removing fire-damaged trees at risk of falling onto roadways or recreation sites. Some evacuation levels remain in place. Evacuation levels from state Highway 380 north to SE Puett Road have been reduced from Level 3—Go Now to Level 2—Be Set. The area north of SE Puett Road around the perimeter of the fire remains at Level 3—Go Now. A forest closure remains in place for the eastern portion of the Paulina Ranger District.