Smoke Forecast for Thursday, August 29, 2024 9:30 AM

August 29 2024

Current Conditions

Low pressure exits the region on Thursday. Warmer air will quickly build across the region, leading to more active fire behavior and increased smoke production.

There are numerous active fires burning along the west side of the Bitterroot Mountains in Idaho. These fires will continue to spread smoke into portions of Western Montana in the coming days. The Elkhorn Ridge fire has burned more than 2,500 acres and is 0% contained. It is burning along the Salmon River just a few miles west of the Montana border. Just west of Salmon, Idaho, the Burnt Creek fire expanded again on Wednesday. It has burned close to 2,500 acres and is 0% contained.

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. A crew of 228 has made considerable progress on the fire which is now 61% contained.

At 9:00 AM Thursday, Great Falls, Hamilton, and Libby were enduring Moderate air quality.

Thursday morning’s satellite shows light smoke over Southwest Montana, with heavy smoke from Idaho wildfires staying south of the Treasure State.

Source: NOAA

Forecast

Low pressure pulls away from the Treasure State on Thursday. Drier and warmer air will quickly move into the region behind the departing low. There are numerous active fires burning across the higher terrain of Central Idaho and fire activity should increase in the coming days. In the upper levels, the flow remains out of the northwest on Thursday keeping the bulk of the smoke from these fires out of Montana.

High pressure builds over the region this weekend. It will bring much warmer temperatures back to the Treasure State, with highs back in the upper 80s and 90s for most of the valleys. The flow gradually turns around to the west and southwest. This will pump smoke from fires burning across Idaho back in Montana. Expect air quality to deteriorate under this pattern with the usual diurnal fluctuations in surface smoke.

By early next week, a southwesterly flow will persist across the Northern Rockies. It will bring monsoonal moisture back to the Treasure State with daily chances for afternoon showers and storms. Widespread rain isn’t likely, so fire behavior will remain active on existing fires due to warm temperatures and gusty winds. Unfortunately, the southwesterly flow will continue to bring smoke from fires burning upstream in Idaho into Montana. Stay tuned!

By late Friday, the HRRR smoke model shows smoke moving into parts of Southwest Montana from fires burning across Central Idaho.

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	52,974	5%
Wapiti Fire - IDBOF	Idaho	2 miles southwest of Grandjean, ID	89,714	0%
Limepoint Fire - IDPAF	Idaho	8 miles NE of Oxbow Dam	32,636	88%
Snag Fire - IDBOF	Idaho	9.5 miles East of Cascade, Idaho	27,458	3%
Dollar Fire - IDBOF	Idaho	18 miles NE of Cascade, Idaho	2,937	0%
Goat Fire - IDBOF	Idaho	11 miles SE of Cascade, Idaho	2,427	0%
Boulder Fire - IDBOF	Idaho	9 Miles southwest of Cascade, Idaho.	2,396	57%
Anchor Fire - IDNCF	Idaho	About half way between Hanover Mountain and Square Mountain in the Gospel Hump Wilderness	400	NA
Wolf Creek Fire - IDPAF	Idaho	11 Miles NW of Cascade, ID	1,154	95%
Wye Fire - IDNCF	Idaho	East Moose creek Bridge to Elbow Bend impacted	6,763	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.	1,345	NA
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
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%
Monumental Fire - IDPAF	Idaho	NA	11	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
Ratio Mountain - MTBDF	Montana	15 miles northwest of Whitehall, MT.	451	NA
Sharrott Creek Fire - MTBRF	Montana	Three miles west of Stevensville, Montana	1,130	NA
McElwain Fire - MTMTS	Montana	10 miles west of Helmville, MT	176	5%
Marsh Creek - MTHLF	Montana	12 Miles Southeast of Lincoln, MT	4	0%
Johnson Fire - MTBRF	Montana	3 miles west of the Springer Memorial Community in the East Fork on the Bitterroot NF	400	0%
Big Hollow Fire - MTMTS	Montana	36 miles southwest of Dillon, MT	3,415	40%
Remington Fire - MTGNF	Montana	14 miles NE of Leiter, WY, multiple counties in southeast Montana.	196,459	50%
Grouse - MTBDF	Montana	Ten miles southwest of Wise River, MT	4,200	22%
Railroad-Daly Fire - MTBRF	Montana	Railroad Creek/ Skalkaho Creek confluence, 26 miles SE of Hamilton	98	1%
Elkhorn Ridge - MTBRF	Montana	West Fork District	2,482	0%
Willamette Complex Fires - South - ORWIF	Oregon	Willamette Complex South fires are 8 miles north and 8 to 22 miles S-SE of Oakridge.	13,082	NA
Middle Fork Fire - ORCLP	Oregon	Crater Lake National Park; Middle Fork area	5,280	37%
Cottage Grove - Lane 1 - OR77S	Oregon	Approximately 16 miles SE of Springfield, OR	25,267	93%
Sandstone Fire - ORMHF	Oregon	9 miles SW of Ripplebrook, OR, on the Mt. Hood National Forest	702	74%
Whisky Creek Fire - ORMHF	Oregon	East fork of Herman Creek, 6 miles SE of Cascade Locks, OR	2,084	24%
North Willamette Complex - ORWIF	Oregon	Willamette National Forest	4,462	NA
Diamond Complex - ORUPF	Oregon	18 miles southwest of Chemult, Oregon	11,152	76%
Homestead Complex - ORUPF	Oregon	Thirty miles northeast of Glide Oregon	5,911	60%
Crazy Creek - OROCF	Oregon	Crazy Creek:16 miles north of Paulina, OR	86,968	93%
Red Fire - ORDEF	Oregon	Diamond Peak Wilderness, 16 miles west, north-west of Crescent Oregon.	755	0%
Lone Rock Fire - ORPRD	Oregon	Lonerock stretching to west of HWY 207 and south to HWY 19	137,222	98%
Ruby Fire - WANCP	Washington	On Ruby Mountain in North Cascade National Park by Diablo and Ross Lake, 9 miles East of Newhalem	959	0%
Williams Mine Fire-GPNF - WAGPF	Washington	3.5 miles NNW of Trout Lake WA	11,778	31%
Upper Ruby - WACOF	Washington	Ruby Creek Drainage - approximately 16 miles northwest of Cusick, WA	280	53%
Pioneer - WASES	Washington	Approximate start 10 miles southeast of Stehekin, WA	38,735	23%
Pincer Two Fire - WAMSF	Washington	Johannesburg Mountain. 1 Mile East of Mineral Park Campground	189	0%
Easy Fire - WAOWF	Washington	North Cascades Hwy 20 Corridor, 17 air miles west of Mazama, WA	2,130	36%
Retreat - WASES	Washington	14 miles WSE of Naches, WA	45,601	85%
Stranger Creek II - WACOA	Washington	NA	66	90%
Six Mile - WACOA	Washington	Two miles east of Nine Mile Hellgate Road, near the head of Cottonwood Creek	113	90%

Source: Inciweb

Tags: Smoke Forecast 2024