Smoke Forecast for Tuesday, August 27, 2024 9:30 AM

August 27 2024

Current Conditions

Light smoke is widespread early Tuesday across the Treasure State, particularly the southwest portion of the state. Numerous active fires continue to burn across the mountains of Central Idaho, and the smoke has been drifting across the border into Montana. Fortunately, the bulk of the smoke was aloft on Monday, so there weren’t any major impacts to air quality.

The Wye fire burning about 30 miles west of Hamilton was active again on Monday. It has burned more than 6,700 acres and is 0% contained. The Sharrott Creek fire is burning just west of Stevensville and has burned more than 1,000 acres. With breezy conditions anticipated on Tuesday, both fires will continue to spread smoke into the portions of the Missoula and Bitterroot Valleys.

The Remington fire started in Wyoming last week. It is burning in mainly grassland and scrubland. The fire quickly expanded north into Montana over the weekend and has now burned nearly 200,000 acres. The Remington fire received some rain on Monday but it’s only 5% contained.

At 9:00 AM Tuesday, Miles City, Great Falls, and Libby were enduring Moderate air quality.

Tuesday morning’s satellite shows some light smoke across the western half of the state from fires burning in and out of the state.

Source: NOAA

Forecast

A cold front will march across the state beginning Tuesday afternoon and evening. It will be accompanied by a lot of wind and gusts could exceed 40 miles per hour in the mountains. This wind will likely lead to more active fire behavior and increased smoke production. Scattered showers and thunderstorms will develop along and ahead of the front.

Much cooler temperatures will follow the front. Snow levels will fall to around 6,000 feet and some light snow is even possible in the mountains through early Wednesday. The cooler air and precipitation should help to moderate fire behavior and smoke production on existing fires at least temporarily. Patchy frost is possible down to the valley floor in parts of Western Montana by Thursday morning.

High pressure builds across the Northern Rockies by Friday. Temperatures will quickly moderate as highs will once again climb well above average. This will lead to the usual diurnal fluctuations in air quality across the area. Smoke will drain and pool into the valleys adjacent to active wildfires overnight leading to deteriorating air quality. As the inversions break by mid-morning, the wind should perk up and push the smoke out of the valleys allowing air quality to improve.

By Wednesday evening, the HRRR smoke model shows smoke moving southeast behind a departing cold front.

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
Middle Fork Complex Fire: Bulldog, Nellie, Anderson - IDBOF	Idaho	9 miles east of Garden Valley, ID	47,400	5%
Goat Fire - IDBOF	Idaho	11 miles SE of Cascade, Idaho	2,253	0%
Snag Fire - IDBOF	Idaho	9.5 miles East of Cascade, Idaho	27,398	3%
Dollar Fire - IDBOF	Idaho	18 miles NE of Cascade, Idaho	2,930	0%
Wolf Creek Fire - IDPAF	Idaho	11 Miles NW of Cascade, ID	1,154	95%
Boulder Fire - IDBOF	Idaho	9 Miles southwest of Cascade, Idaho.	2,396	57%
Wapiti Fire - IDBOF	Idaho	2 miles southwest of Grandjean, ID	70,271	0%
Limepoint Fire - IDPAF	Idaho	8 miles NE of Oxbow Dam	32,636	88%
2024 Flat - IDIDS	Idaho	One mile east of Pioneerville, Idaho	3,734	61%
Farrow Fire - IDPAF	Idaho	NA	852	NA
Burnt Creek Fire - IDPAF	Idaho	NA	600	NA
Parks Fire - IDPAF	Idaho	NA	2,043	NA
Cracker Jack Complex - IDNCF	Idaho	All four fires are located within half a mile of each other: two and a half miles east of Concord, ID, less than a quarter acre east from Square Lake and less than a quarter acre west from Fish Lake.	702	NA
Surprise Fire - IDNCF	Idaho	Three and one-half miles NE of Hunter Peak, Fifteen miles NW of Darby, MT in the Selway-Bitterroot Wilderness	20	NA
Bulltrout Fire - IDBOF	Idaho	15 miles WNW OF Stanley, ID	271	92%
Wye Fire - IDNCF	Idaho	Approximately four and a half miles northwest of Freeman Peak and seven miles northeast of the Moose Creek Airstrip	5,815	NA
Monumental Fire - IDPAF	Idaho	NA	11	NA
Anchor Fire - IDNCF	Idaho	About half way between Hanover Mountain and Square Mountain in the Gospel Hump Wilderness	135	NA
Ace Butte Fire - IDNCF	Idaho	Approximately 30 miles Southeast of Grangeville, Idaho	152	NA
Robbin Fire - IDNCF	Idaho	Within Game Unit 12: located less than six and a half miles southwest of Powell Ranger Station and less than three and a half miles south of Wendover Campground	NA	NA
Grave Butte Fire - IDNCF	Idaho	Within Game Unit 12: located ten miles west of Jerry Johnson Campground and about half a mile from National Forest Service Road #107 (Saddle Camp Road)	10	NA
Boulder Creek Fire - IDNCF	Idaho	Within Game Unit 12: located ten miles north of the Powell Ranger Station and 12 miles west of Lolo Hot Springs	25	NA
Bench Lake Fire - IDSTF	Idaho	8 miles south of Stanley, Idaho	2,595	90%
Remington Fire - MTGNF	Montana	20 miles NE of Leiter, WY, multiple counties in southeast Montana.	196,387	0%
Sharrott Creek Fire - MTBRF	Montana	NA	1,048	NA
Ratio Mountain - MTBDF	Montana	15 miles northwest of Whitehall, MT.	451	NA
Railroad-Daly Fire - MTBRF	Montana	Railroad Creek/ Skalkaho Creek confluence, 26 miles SE of Hamilton	98	1%
Johnson Fire - MTBRF	Montana	3 miles west of the Springer Memorial Community in the East Fork on the Bitterroot NF	370	0%
Elkhorn Ridge - MTBRF	Montana	West Fork District	2,482	0%
McElwain Fire - MTMTS	Montana	10 miles west of Helmville, MT	176	0%
Big Hollow Fire - MTMTS	Montana	36 miles southwest of Dillon, MT	3,414	40%
Grouse - MTBDF	Montana	Ten miles southwest of Wise River, MT	4200	22%
Pentagon Fire - MTFNF	Montana	45 miles SE of Bigfork, MT	62	0%
North Willamette Complex - ORWIF	Oregon	Willamette National Forest	4,462	NA
Red Fire - ORDEF	Oregon	Diamond Peak Wilderness, 16 miles west, north-west of Crescent Oregon.	755	0%
Middle Fork Fire - ORCLP	Oregon	Crater Lake National Park; Middle Fork area	5,280	2%
Diamond Complex - ORUPF	Oregon	18 miles southwest of Chemult, Oregon	11,152	72%
Sandstone Fire - ORMHF	Oregon	9 miles SW of Ripplebrook, OR, on the Mt. Hood National Forest	702	50%
Whisky Creek Fire - ORMHF	Oregon	East fork of Herman Creek, 6 miles SE of Cascade Locks, OR	2,075	24%
Homestead Complex - ORUPF	Oregon	Thirty miles northeast of Glide Oregon	5,909	50%
Lone Rock Fire - ORPRD	Oregon	Lonerock stretching to west of HWY 207 and south to HWY 19	137,222	98%
Willamette Complex Fires - South - ORWIF	Oregon	Willamette Complex South fires are 8 miles north and 8 to 22 miles S-SE of Oakridge.	13,064	NA
Crazy Creek - OROCF	Oregon	Crazy Creek:16 miles north of Paulina, OR	86,968	93%
Cottage Grove - Lane 1 - OR77S	Oregon	Approximately 16 miles SE of Springfield, OR	25,265	90%
Dixon Fire - ORUPF	Oregon	Tiller, Oregon	1,970	87%
Battle Mountain Complex - OR97S	Oregon	West and south of Ukiah, OR	183,026	94%
Ruby Fire - WANCP	Washington	On Ruby Mountain in North Cascade National Park by Diablo and Ross Lake, 9 miles East of Newhalem	959	0%
Upper Ruby - WACOF	Washington	Ruby Creek Drainage - approximately 16 miles northwest of Cusick, WA	282	31%
Pioneer - WASES	Washington	Approximate start 10 miles southeast of Stehekin, WA	38,735	23%
Williams Mine Fire-GPNF - WAGPF	Washington	3.5 miles NNW of Trout Lake WA	11,778	31%
2620 Road Fire - WAOLC	Washington	The fire is located 5 miles West of Brinnon Washington.	398	93%
Easy Fire - WAOWF	Washington	North Cascades Hwy 20 Corridor, 17 air miles west of Mazama, WA	2,130	36%
Pincer Two Fire - WAMSF	Washington	Johannesburg Mountain. 1 Mile East of Mineral Park Campground	189	0%
Six Mile - WACOA	Washington	Two miles east of Nine Mile Hellgate Road, near the head of Cottonwood Creek	113	90%
Stranger Creek II - WACOA	Washington	NA	66	90%
Wicked Drive - WANEC	Washington	Tum Tum, Washington	698	65%
House Draw Fire - WYHPD	Wyoming	40 Mile SW of Gillette	174,702	88%
Clearwater - WYSHF	Wyoming	11 Miles West of Wapiti, Wyoming	1,966	75%
Fish Creek Fire - WYBTF	Wyoming	Approximately 7 miles southwest of Togwotee Pass	11,397	NA
Leeds Creek - WYBTF	Wyoming	16 Miles Southwest of Dubois, WY	780	75%

Source: Inciweb

Tags: Smoke Forecast 2024