TL;DR: On Sept. 16, 2026, at 4:00 p.m., the Clackamas County Sheriff's Office lifted Level 3 evacuation notices for the Austin Fire and the Narrows Fire after reduced fire behavior and increased containment lowered immediate life-safety risks, while the U.S. Forest Service closure in Mount Hood National Forest remained in effect because of unstable trees, damaged infrastructure and heavy equipment operations.

Lift announced on ClackCo Alerts page

The change was posted as the top item on the county's official alert hub, identified in the source as ClackCo Alerts, according to ClackCo Alerts.

That county page states that the Clackamas County Sheriff's Office lifted the Level 3 notices for the Austin and the Narrows fires in Clackamas County on 9/16/2026 at 4:00 p.m.

The same notice explains the reason in operational terms: fire behavior had decreased and containment had increased on both the Austin and Narrows fires, so immediate life-safety risks were reduced.

The notice does not describe residents as cleared to re-enter closed forest lands. It emphasizes that the area inside the U.S. Forest Service closure stayed dangerous because of unstable trees and damaged infrastructure.

It also states that heavy-machinery operations may require portions of the forest to remain closed for some time. The purpose described is to allow mitigation work to proceed without crews needing to account for visitors inside active work zones.

Forest managers, the notice says, coordinate daily with fire teams to assess progress on mitigating hazards on roads, trails, campgrounds and other sites so public lands can reopen as soon as safe operation is possible. It directs readers to the Mt. Hood National Forest U.S. Forest Service website for additional information, according to ClackCo Alerts.

For household planning, the important distinction on Sept. 16 was therefore evacuation status versus forest-entry status. The Sheriff's Office action changed the evacuation notices, while a separate federal closure continued to control access to the fire-affected portion of the forest.

What Level 3, Level 2 and Level 1 mean in Oregon

Clackamas County uses Oregon's standardized three-level evacuation notification system, according to NW FireWatch's Sept. 13 report titled "Austin Fire Evacuation Zones: Level 3 Go Now Orders Remain in Effect Near Estacada."

Under that system, Level 3 — Go Now means immediate danger is present and people should leave immediately, take essential items and not wait for additional instructions.

Level 2 — Be Set means residents should be prepared to leave at a moment's notice, remain ready to evacuate quickly and monitor local alert systems.

Level 1 — Be Ready means residents should be aware, prepare for possible evacuation, review emergency plans and prepare go-bags.

Those definitions matter because Clackamas County moved areas through different levels as the Austin, Narrows and Mitchell fire situations developed. A lower number does not mean no risk; it means residents should use the time to verify routes, assemble supplies, arrange transportation and monitor official updates.

The Sept. 13 NW FireWatch report also stated that specific boundaries of active evacuation zones were updated regularly and that residents should verify current zone assignments through the Clackamas County Emergency Management website or the county emergency hotline.

A follow-up NW FireWatch report on Sept. 14 added that evacuation orders are lifted only after formal review by the county sheriff and incident management. That procedural detail explains why improving weather alone does not automatically end a Level 3 order.

Timeline that led to the Sept. 16 decision

The county alert archive shows a progression from early awareness to mandatory evacuation and then to the Sept. 16 lift.

On 8/9/2026 at 6:30 p.m., the Clackamas County Sheriff's Office, in coordination with the United States Forest Service personnel battling the Austin and Mitchell fires, issued a Level 1 Be Ready alert for the area around Harriet Lake, according to ClackCo Alerts.

On 8/10/2026 at 6:30 p.m., a Level 3 Go Now evacuation was issued for the area around the Austin fire in Clackamas County, with people told to avoid the area for life-safety concerns.

On 8/27/2026 at 10:00 a.m., Mt. Hood National Forest expanded the existing emergency closure order for the Austin Fire and the Narrows Fire on the Clackamas River Ranger District. The county page states that the closure was necessary for public safety and to allow firefighters and heavy equipment to operate efficiently and safely. In coordination, the Clackamas County Sheriff's Office issued a Level 3 Go Now notice for the same area.

That expanded closure prohibited all public entry within the defined area, including travel on Forest Service roads, use of Forest Service trails or campgrounds and any off-road travel.

The county listed closed Forest Service roads as including portions of Forest Road 46, Forest Road 57, Forest Road 63 and Forest Road 70, as well as Oregon Highway 224 east of Fish Creek. It listed popular closed recreation sites as Lake Harriet, Timothy Lake, Bagby Hot Springs and campgrounds along the Clackamas River east of Carter Bridge.

Closure signs were posted at trailheads, roads and other access points, and the complete closure order and map were made available on the Forest website, according to ClackCo Alerts.

By mid-September, wildfire conditions remained serious even as weather moderated. The Sept. 14 NW FireWatch report titled "Austin Fire: Level 3 Evacuations Remain in Clackamas County Despite Rain and Cooler Conditions" said residents in portions of Clackamas County remained under Level 3 Go Now orders as the Austin Fire continued burning southeast of Estacada in Mt. Hood National Forest.

That report said recent rainfall and cooler temperatures had substantially slowed fire behavior, but mandatory evacuation orders had not yet been rescinded. It described crews working under creeping and smoldering conditions and reinforcing perimeter lines following rain, while noting the fire was not yet considered controlled.

Only after that holding period did the county post the Sept. 16 lift for the Austin and Narrows fires.

Fire footprint, roads and forest access

The Austin Fire burned in the Clackamas River Ranger District of Mount Hood National Forest, southeast of Estacada, in steep, timbered terrain, according to the Sept. 13 NW FireWatch report. That report placed the burned area at more than 12,600 acres.

The Sept. 14 report placed the size at approximately 12,610 acres and described the fire as only partially contained. It also reported that investigators had confirmed the fire was human-caused.

A Sept. 11 report by The Oregonian/OregonLive said the Austin fire had burned over 12,000 acres southeast of Estacada since breaking out more than a month earlier and was 36% contained at that time, with Level 3 go-now evacuation orders in effect for areas close to the fire.

Road control was centered on the upper Clackamas River corridor. The Sept. 14 NW FireWatch report said Highway 224 remained closed to public travel east of milepost 39 at Fish Creek, with trails, forest roads and recreation sites across the affected district largely off limits while crews continued operations. It said checkpoints remained staffed around the clock and that residents should not return to Level 3 areas without authorization.

The Sept. 13 report similarly said several roads in the Estacada area and upper Clackamas River corridor had been closed or restricted to emergency traffic only, and that residents under evacuation orders should not attempt to return until official all-clear notices were issued through county emergency management channels.

The same report said the U.S. Forest Service had implemented emergency area closures across portions of the Clackamas River Ranger District to protect public safety and suppression operations, covering roads, trails, campgrounds and recreation areas within the fire perimeter and adjacent buffer zones. It added that Forest Service law enforcement was actively patrolling closure boundaries and that violating a forest closure order is a federal offense.

For readiness planning, the lesson is to treat highway, forest and evacuation information as three related but separate controls. An evacuation lift does not automatically reopen a federal forest closure, remove road checkpoints or restore access to campgrounds and trailheads.

Firefighter death and operational risk

On Sept. 11, The Oregonian/OregonLive reported that a firefighter had died from injuries sustained while battling the Austin fire south of Mount Hood, according to the U.S. Forest Service.

The report said the firefighter was hurt Wednesday while suppressing the blaze in Mount Hood National Forest, received immediate medical treatment and was taken to a nearby hospital, where the firefighter died from injuries.

The agency was quoted as saying: “We extend our sincere condolences to the fallen firefighter’s family, friends, and colleagues.”

The same report said the U.S. Forest Service was working with the fallen firefighter's family and the company the firefighter was working with at the time, that the incident would be investigated and that the agency had not released the firefighter's identity.

The death underscored why evacuation and closure decisions remained conservative even when rainfall slowed visible fire spread. Steep terrain, heavy equipment, falling trees and damaged roads can remain hazardous after flames subside.

How to stay informed through county channels

The county's ClackCo Alerts page functions as a chronological public notice board for evacuation and closure updates, supplemented by an evacuation map. The page states that when evacuation orders occur, evacuation levels will be posted on that map, according to ClackCo Alerts.

The page also encourages residents to sign up to receive PublicAlerts that may affect them, their families and friends.

For wildfire-specific updates, the county page points readers to the Mt. Hood National Forest–U.S. Forest Service Facebook page for wildfire updates and additional evacuation information. It also points readers to the National Environmental Health Association website for information about private drinking water and guidance for septic systems before, during and after a wildfire.

Other information pathways listed by NW FireWatch included InciWeb, where users could search “Austin Fire,” the Austin Fire Info Line at (541) 982-5802, Clackamas County alerts at clackamas.us/em and the Oregon Office of Emergency Management at oregon.gov/oem.

The Sept. 14 NW FireWatch report additionally advised residents to check the Clackamas County Sheriff's Office and Oregon State Fire Marshal interactive maps for updated evacuation boundaries and to contact the Red Cross or local emergency services for evacuation-shelter information. It said the American Red Cross had opened evacuation assistance resources in the earlier phase of the incident, while residents with livestock and large animals were encouraged to contact local fairgrounds or the Oregon Humane Society for animal-evacuation assistance, according to the Sept. 13 report.

Free language assistance for county alert information was available through Clackamas County Disaster Management at 503-655-8378 or [email protected], according to ClackCo Alerts.

Residents should keep that contact information with emergency supplies rather than relying on finding it during an evacuation. Households in wildfire-prone corridors should also confirm that PublicAlerts registrations include current mobile numbers, home addresses and any additional locations where family members spend time.

Sources referenced