Idaho Governor Declares Fire Disaster Emergency, Deploys National Guard to Big Grass Fire

Idaho Governor Brad Little declared a fire disaster emergency for Owyhee County and ordered the deployment of the Idaho National Guard to assist with firefighting efforts on the Big Grass Fire, which is burning across the Idaho-Oregon border. The announcement was reported on July 29, 2026, by Yahoo News and KTVB, both under state-level coverage of the wildfire situation. According to Yahoo News, the Big Grass Fire is one of 530 wildfires that have burned more than 138,000 acres across Idaho's wildland fire jurisdictions so far this season. The governor's emergency declaration authorizes National Guard support to bolster firefighting operations in the affected area. KTVB reported that local officials and volunteer firefighting groups raised concerns about limited resources, including shortages of fuel and supplies, as crews worked to contain the fire and protect rangeland, livestock and rural communities near the Idaho-Oregon border. The current status of containment efforts, the exact acreage burned by the Big Grass Fire specifically, and the timeline for National Guard deployment were not detailed in the available reporting. It remains unresolved how the reported resource shortages will be addressed or whether additional state or federal assistance will be requested. Further details on the disaster declaration's scope and duration have not been confirmed by both sources.