Smoke Forecast for Saturday, August 31, 2024 4:30 PM

August 31 2024

Current Conditions

An Air Quality Alert is in effect for Beaverhead and Ravalli Counties until 4PM Sunday because of elevated particulate levels from wildfires smoke.

High pressure, dry fuels, and numerous active wildfires continue to spread smoke into parts of Western Montana.

There are numerous active fires burning in the Bitterroot Mountains of Idaho and Montana. These fires will continue to spread smoke into portions of Western Montana in the coming days. The Elkhorn Ridge fire has burned more than 3,120 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 Wye fire is burning 30 miles west of Hamilton and has burned more than 7,000 acres. It is 0% contained.

On Saturday, there were four fires burning in Western Montana that exhibited active fire behavior. The Grouse fire burning just east of Wisdom has burned more than 4,000 acres and is 22% contained. The Johnson fire burning just east of Sula has burned 800 acres and is 0% contained. The Sharrott Creek fire just west of Stevensville has burned over 1,300 acres and is 0% contained. Lastly, the Ratio Mountain fire burning east of Butte has burned more than 700 acres and is 9% 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 196 has made considerable progress on the fire which is now 76% contained.

At 4:00 PM Saturday, Great Falls, Missoula, Butte, Bozeman, Dillon, West Yellowstone, and Broadus were enduring Moderate air quality. Hamilton was experiencing air that is considered Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups.

Saturday afternoon’s satellite shows areas of heavy smoke over Western Montana from wildfires burning across the region.

Source: NOAA

Forecast

Unseasonably warm temperatures, dry fuels, and high pressure have produced active fire behavior on numerous blazes in Idaho and Western Montana. The ridge will strengthen on Sunday, providing near record high temperatures. Smoke will continue to plague much of the Bitterroot and Big Hole Valleys, with the usual diurnal fluctuations in air quality anticipated. Smoke will pool and drain overnight into the valleys. As the inversion starts to lift around midday, expect gradual improvements in air quality as surface smoke mixes out. A light southwesterly flow will allow the smoke to gradually trickle northeast into Granite, Deer Lodge, Silver Bow, and Missoula Counties.

An area of low pressure will provide scattered showers and thunderstorms for the area by Monday. Gusty outflow winds from any thunderstorms could produce erratic fire behavior on existing wildfires. Gusts as high as 50 or 60 mph could accompany a few of the stronger storms. Slightly cooler air will follow the system on Tuesday with afternoon highs closer to average.

High pressure builds back over the Northern Rockies starting Wednesday. The combination of warm temperatures, low humidity, dry fuels, and gusty winds will lead to additional growth on wildfires across Montana and Idaho. Unfortunately, there is little to no precipitation in the forecast for the area this week. So, air quality will be an ongoing concern across the Treasure State with numerous wildfires burning around the region. Stay tuned!

By late Sunday, the HRRR smoke model shows heavy smoke moving into Southwest Montana, including the Bitterroot Valley.

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	94,685	0%
Wolf Creek Fire - IDPAF	Idaho	11 Miles NW of Cascade, ID	1154	95%
Snag Fire - IDBOF	Idaho	9.5 miles East of Cascade, Idaho	29,542	3%
Boulder Fire - IDBOF	Idaho	9 Miles southwest of Cascade, Idaho.	2,372	57%
Dollar Fire - IDBOF	Idaho	18 miles NE of Cascade, Idaho	3,271	0%
Goat Fire - IDBOF	Idaho	11 miles SE of Cascade, Idaho	2,708	0%
Farrow Fire - IDPAF	Idaho	NA	852	NA
Parks Fire - IDPAF	Idaho	NA	3,206	NA
Burnt Creek Fire - IDPAF	Idaho	NA	2,497	NA
Limepoint Fire - IDPAF	Idaho	8 miles NE of Oxbow Dam	32,735	93%
Surprise Fire - IDNCF	Idaho	Three and one-half miles NE of Hunter Peak, Fifteen miles NW of Darby, MT in the Selway-Bitterroot Wilderness	40	NA
Wye Fire - IDNCF	Idaho	East Moose creek Bridge to Elbow Bend impacted	7,739	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
Anchor Fire - IDNCF	Idaho	About half way between Hanover Mountain and Square Mountain in the Gospel Hump Wilderness	400	NA
2024 Flat - IDIDS	Idaho	One mile east of Pioneerville, Idaho	3,734	61%
Bulltrout Fire - IDBOF	Idaho	15 miles WNW OF Stanley, ID	271	92%
Monumental Fire - IDPAF	Idaho	NA	11	NA
Sharrott Creek Fire - MTBRF	Montana	Three miles west of Stevensville, Montana	1,458	NA
Johnson Fire - MTBRF	Montana	3 miles west of the Springer Memorial Community in the East Fork on the Bitterroot NF	1,428	0%
Grouse - MTBDF	Montana	Ten miles southwest of Wise River, MT	4,266	22%
Big Hollow Fire - MTMTS	Montana	36 miles southwest of Dillon, MT	3,435	90%
Ratio Mountain - MTBDF	Montana	15 miles northwest of Whitehall, MT.	750	NA
Marsh Creek - MTHLF	Montana	12 Miles Southeast of Lincoln, MT	4	0%
Remington Fire - MTGNF	Montana	14 miles NE of Leiter, WY, multiple counties in southeast Montana.	196,368	76%
McElwain Fire - MTMTS	Montana	10 miles west of Helmville, MT	116	25%
Railroad-Daly Fire - MTBRF	Montana	Railroad Creek/ Skalkaho Creek confluence, 26 miles SE of Hamilton	141	1%
Elkhorn Ridge - MTBRF	Montana	West Fork District	2,482	0%
Middle Fork Fire - ORCLP	Oregon	Crater Lake National Park; Middle Fork area	5,282	46%
Diamond Complex - ORUPF	Oregon	18 miles southwest of Chemult, Oregon	11,138	78%
Red Fire - ORDEF	Oregon	Diamond Peak Wilderness, 16 miles west, north-west of Crescent Oregon.	762	0%
Whisky Creek Fire - ORMHF	Oregon	East fork of Herman Creek, 6 miles SE of Cascade Locks, OR	2,085	24%
Sandstone Fire - ORMHF	Oregon	9 miles SW of Ripplebrook, OR, on the Mt. Hood National Forest	702	75%
Willamette Complex Fires - South - ORWIF	Oregon	Willamette Complex South fires are 8 miles north and 8 to 22 miles S-SE of Oakridge.	13,169	NA
Crazy Creek - OROCF	Oregon	Crazy Creek:16 miles north of Paulina, OR	86,968	93%
North Willamette Complex - ORWIF	Oregon	Willamette National Forest	4,525	NA
Homestead Complex - ORUPF	Oregon	Thirty miles northeast of Glide Oregon	5,910	60%
Microwave Tower Fire - OR95S	Oregon	1 mile WSW of Mosier, OR	1,313	95%
Cottage Grove - Lane 1 - OR77S	Oregon	Approximately 16 miles SE of Springfield, OR	25,267	93%
Lone Rock Fire - ORPRD	Oregon	Lonerock stretching to west of HWY 207 and south to HWY 19	137,222	98%
Pincer Two Fire - WAMSF	Washington	Johannesburg Mountain. 1 Mile East of Mineral Park Campground	211	0%
Williams Mine Fire-GPNF - WAGPF	Washington	3.5 miles NNW of Trout Lake WA	11,821	31%
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	280	94%
Pioneer - WASES	Washington	Approximate start 10 miles southeast of Stehekin, WA	38,735	23%
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