Smoke Forecast for Thursday, August 8, 2024 9:30 AM

August 08 2024

Current Conditions

Clouds and cooler air kept Montana’s wildfires in check on Wednesday. To our west, Oregon, Idaho, and Washington saw abundant sunshine and more seasonable temperatures on Wednesday, allowing many fires to expand.

The Grouse fire burning in the Pioneer Mountains southwest of Wise River remains the wildfire of greatest concern in the state. It has grown to 3,700 acres with only 5% of the fire contained.

At 9:00 AM Thursday, Libby, Thompson Falls, Frenchtown, Great Falls, Cut Bank, Havre, Malta, Billings, Broadus, Miles City, and Bozeman were enduring Moderate air quality.

DEQ’s Today’s Air website is scheduled for maintenance 3pm Friday, August 9^th through Sunday, August 11^th. During this time please find Montana air quality information through the Fire and Smoke Map.

Thursday morning’s satellite shows clouds and fog over Montana behind a departing area of low pressure.

Source: NOAA

Forecast

Low pressure shifts east into the Dakotas on Thursday. This will provide an easterly flow and seasonably cool temperatures. Several large and active wildfires continue to burn in Oregon, Washington, and Idaho. The easterly flow should keep much of the smoke from these fires out of the Treasure State. Light plumes of smoke will impact the eastern half of the state from Canadian wildfires.

A broad trough shifts into the region on Friday. It will help to turn our flow aloft around to the southwest. This will provide a gradual warming trend for the Northern Rockies. It will also bring smoke from upstream wildfires into the state, particularly Southwest Montana. Air quality levels will likely deteriorate, especially for areas like Ravalli, Beaverhead, Granite, and Deer Lodge Counties.

A southwesterly flow will linger into the weekend as a broad trough remains in place. Impulses will rotate around the trough, bringing daily chances for afternoon and early evening precipitation. Temperatures should remain on the cool side compared to seasonal averages. The combination of clouds and cooler temperatures should help keep wildfire activity in check. However, the southwesterly flow will occasionally bring smoke from wildfires burning in Idaho, Washington, and Oregon into Montana.

By late Friday, the HRRR smoke model shows smoke from wildfires burning in Idaho, Washington, and Oregon drifting into Southwest Montana.

Source: HRRR Smoke

Conditions can change quickly as weather could stimulate active fires and the likelihood of new starts increases. Please keep track of concentrations at todaysair.mtdeq.us or the Fire and Smoke Map.

Current Wildfires

Current Wildfires
Incident	State	location	acres	containment
Wapiti Fire - IDBOF	Idaho	2 miles southwest of Grandjean, ID	740	0%
Limepoint Fire - IDPAF	Idaho	8 miles NE of Oxbow Dam	25,921	10%
Bulltrout Fire - IDBOF	Idaho	15 miles WNW OF Stanley, ID	271	65%
Cliff Mountain - IDPAF	Idaho	25 Miles East of Joseph, Oregon	1,108	20%
Snag Fire - IDBOF	Idaho	9.5 miles East of Cascade, Idaho	1,451	0%
Dollar Fire - IDBOF	Idaho	18 mi. NE of Cascade, Idaho	1,060	0%
Paddock - IDBOD	Idaho	20 miles north of Emmett, Idaho	118,000	5%
Wolf Creek Fire - IDPAF	Idaho	5 miles west of Donnelly, ID	1,149	21%
Boulder Fire - IDBOF	Idaho	9 Miles southwest of Cascade, Idaho.	1,023	6%
Bench Lake Fire - IDSTF	Idaho	8 miles south of Stanley, Idaho	2,595	90%
Anchor Fire - IDNCF	Idaho	About halfway between Hanover Mountain and Square Mountain in the Gospel Hump Wilderness	72	NA
Ace Butte Fire - IDNCF	Idaho	Approximately 30 miles Southeast of Grangeville, Idaho	64	NA
Wye Fire - IDNCF	Idaho	Approximately four and a half miles northwest of Freeman Peak and seven miles northeast of the Moose Creek Airstrip	3,760	NA
Bluff Creek Complex - IDIPF	Idaho	The fires are burning along both sides of the Bluff Ridge, approximately 13 1/2 miles southeast of Avery, ID; five and a half miles west from Gold Creek Campground; and approximately two miles northwest of Junction Ridge.	432	NA
Shepp Fire - IDNCF	Idaho	Approximately 30 miles Southwest of Elk City, Idaho	100	NA
2024 Gwen Fire - IDIDS	Idaho	South of Juliaetta Idaho, about 30 miles outside Lewiston near State Highway 3 in Latah County	28,820	90%
Thunder Fire - IDSCF	Idaho	12 miles south, southwest of Salmon, ID	2,474	75%
Grouse - MTBDF	Montana	Ten miles southwest of Wise River, MT	3,700	5%
Johnson Fire - MTBRF	Montana	3 miles west of the Springer Memorial Community in the East Fork on the Bitterroot NF	270	0%
Miller Peak Fire - MTLNF	Montana	7 miles southeast of Missoula	2,724	86%
Black Mountain - MTHLF	Montana	6 miles northwest of Lincoln. Mont.	182	67%
Pentagon Fire - MTFNF	Montana	45 miles SE of Bigfork, MT	62	0%
Muir Creek Fire - MTGNP	Montana	20 miles southeast of West Glacier, MT and east of the Middle Fork of the Flathead River	30	0%
Courtrock Fire - OR95S	Oregon	7.1 Miles south of Monument, OR	20,019	83%
Telephone Fire - ORMAF	Oregon	16 miles north east of Burns, Oregon	53,487	59%
Falls Fire - ORMAF	Oregon	20 miles NW of Burns	147,403	76%
Lone Rock Fire - ORPRD	Oregon	Lonerock stretching to west of HWY 207 and south to HWY 19	137,222	92%
Ore Fire - ORWIF	Oregon	7 Miles NE of Blue River, OR	2,221	29%
Oakridge Lightning Fires 2024 - ORWIF	Oregon	Willamette Complex fires are to the north and south of Oakridge.	12,193	0%
Whisky Creek Fire - ORMHF	Oregon	East fork of Herman Creek, 6 miles SE of Cascade Locks, OR	1,447	0%
Diamond Complex - ORUPF	Oregon	18 miles southwest of Chemult, Oregon	7,624	11%
Crazy Creek - OROCF	Oregon	Crazy Creek:16 miles north of Paulina, OR	78,495	28%
Battle Mountain Complex - OR97S	Oregon	West and south of Ukiah, OR	182,604	48%
Middle Fork Fire - ORCLP	Oregon	Middle Fork area, west of Crater Lake, Crater Lake National Park	2,527	1%
Sandstone Fire - ORMHF	Oregon	9 miles SW of Ripplebrook, OR, on the Mt. Hood National Forest	500	0%
Microwave Tower Fire - OR95S	Oregon	1 mile WSW of Mosier, OR	1,313	89%
Red Fire - ORDEF	Oregon	Diamond Peak Wilderness	508	0%
Homestead Complex - ORUPF	Oregon	Thirty miles northeast of Glide Oregon	2,851	14%
Porcupine Fire - ORBUD	Oregon	Porcupine Reservoir	4,598	0%
Durkee Fire - ORVAD	Oregon	1 mile west of Durkee, Oregon	294,265	95%
Cottage Grove - Lane 1 - OR77S	Oregon	Approximately 16 miles SE of Springfield, OR	15,830	9%
Adam Mountain - ORUPF	Oregon	Approximately 6 miles southeast of Dorena, Oregon	12,645	9%
Badland Complex 2024 - ORVAD	Oregon	Baker County, Oregon	54,563	99%
Winding Waters Complex - OR97S	Oregon	23 miles east of Union, OR	752	83%
Cougar Creek Fire - WASES	Washington	1 mile west of Hwy 129 and Grand Ronde river intersection	20,922	35%
Pioneer - WASES	Washington	Approximate start 10 miles southeast of Stehekin, WA	36,970	13%
Williams Mine Fire-GPNF - WAGPF	Washington	3.5 miles NNW of Trout Lake WA	4,500	0%
Retreat - WASES	Washington	14 miles southwest of Naches, WA	44,588	64%
Pincer Two Fire - WAMSF	Washington	Johannesburg Mountain. 1 Mile East of Mineral Park C.G.	115	0%
Easy Fire - WAOWF	Washington	North Cascades Hwy 20 Corridor, 17 air miles west of Mazama, WA	1,538	0%
Lower Granite Fire - WANES	Washington	Northeast of Pomeroy, WA	14,482	100%
Black Canyon - WASES	Washington	10 Miles NW, Naches, WA	9,211	99%
South Columbia Basin - WANES	Washington	9.5 Miles WSW of Cheney, WA	252	100%

Source: Inciweb

Tags: Smoke Forecast 2024