Smoke Forecast for Thursday, August 20, 2026 9:00 AM

August 20 2026

Current Conditions

An Air Resource Advisor has been assigned to the Sand Creek and Bobcat Lakes Fires burning in the Pioneer Mountains of southwest Montana.

An Air Resource Advisor has been assigned to the smoke event across central and western Montana due to the massive wildfires in Oregon and Washington.

Air quality has continued to deteriorate over Montana in the last 24-hours. Thanks to moderating temperatures and gusty afternoon winds, the Bobcat Lakes and Sand Creek Fires woke up on Wednesday, exhibiting more active fire behavior. The Bobcat Lakes Fire has burned nearly 10,000 acres and the Sand Creek Fire has burned over 30,000 acres. Both fires are burning in the Pioneer Mountains of southwest Montana. The Windmill Fire expanded quickly yesterday in rural Stillwater County. It grew to 3,000 acres on Wednesday. Westerly transport winds will send smoke into downwind communities like Billings and Laurel over the next 24-hours. Additionally, there are a handful of active fires burning in central Idaho. These will continue to send smoke into Mineral, Sanders, Missoula, and Ravalli Counties in the coming days.

As of 8 AM, particulate levels in Great Falls, Billings, Lewistown, Hamilton, Frenchtown, Missoula, Cut Bank, Columbia Falls, Thompson Falls, and Libby are moderate.

By Friday afternoon, the Rapid Refresh Forecast System (RRFS) smoke model shows increasing smoke production on regional wildfire and mainly light surface smoke across parts of the state.

HRRR Smoke Model

Source: HRRR-smoke

Forecast

Persistent west and northwest winds will continue again on Thursday. This will bring light to moderate areas of surface smoke into state from regional wildfires burning in Oregon, Washington, Idaho, British Columbia, and Montana. High pressure will produce hot, dry, and windy weather through Friday. This will help maintain the active fire weather we saw develop on several Montana wildfires on Wednesday. Expect the usual diurnal patterns to the wildfire smoke, with smoke draining and pooling overnight, leading to deteriorating air quality. However, by afternoon breezy conditions will lead to additional fire growth and improving surface air quality.

Widely scattered showers and thunderstorms are possible late Friday and into the weekend as a trough moves over the region. Unfortunately, this system is unlikely to produce a widespread soaking for the area. In addition to the precipitation chances, the trough will provide cooler temperatures with more typical afternoon highs.

A ridge builds over the region between Tuesday and Wednesday of next week. This will bring moderating temperatures to the Treasure State. Thanks to moderating temperatures, low humidity, and gusty afternoon winds, expect fire behavior and smoke production on regional wildfires to increase during this timeframe. Stay tuned!

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.

Thursday morning’s satellite image shows widespread smoke over Montana thanks to local and regional wildfires.

Satellite Imagery of western US

Source: NOAA

Current Wildfires

Incident Name	State	Location	Acres	Containment
Upper Smith Fire	Idaho	Six miles West of Porthill, Idaho	3697	38%
Moose Mountain	Idaho	Approximately 4 miles north of Kelly Forks Camp Ground	3113	7%
Porcupine Fire	Idaho	Approximately 7 miles NE of Clark Fork, ID.	127	0%
Little Weitas	Idaho	Approximately 19 miles East of Peirce, Idaho	400	NA
Lake	Idaho	4 Miles SW of Secesh, ID	161	100%
Tartar	Idaho	21 Miles NW of Weiser, ID	158027	98%
Cascade	Idaho	22 miles East of Lowell, Idaho	3300	NA
Chimney Fire	Idaho	9 miles northwest of Fairfield, ID	6521	80%
Claremont Fire	Idaho	1 mile NE of Boise, Idaho	6606	90%
Duncan	Idaho	50 Miles SW of Mountain Home, ID	16362	70%
Double Springs Fire	Idaho	31 miles Northwest of Mackay , ID	1779	18%
Moose Fire	Montana	24 miles southwest of Philipsburg	5965	6%
Bobcat Lakes	Montana	12 miles east of Wisdom	9910	40%
Sand Creek	Montana	7.5 miles southeast of Wisdom, Montana	31757	7%
Cherry Peak	Montana	11 Miles SE of Thompson Falls, MT	140	0%
Skillet Fire	Montana	15 miles west of Olney, MT	3364	82%
Silvertip Fire	Montana	NA	6681	15%
Ant Park	Montana	NA	NA	NA
Black Bear Fire	Montana	15 Miles E of Hamilton, MT	2145	20%
North Fork Fire	Montana	10 miles southwest of Hamilton, MT, north of North Fork Lost Horse Creek	118	70%
Paradise Fire	Oregon	15 miles south of Pendleton Oregon	6129	0%
Coleman Creek	Oregon	~1 mile southeast of Juntura	308863	95%
Bald Mountain	Oregon	50 Miles SE of Burns, OR	76443	95%
Hagen Fire	Oregon	26 Miles East of Pendleton, OR	58153	19%
Jackass Butte	Oregon	40 Miles S of Burns, OR	24724	92%
Second Flat	Oregon	Six miles NE of Riley, OR	105854	95%
Austin Fire	Oregon	25 Miles SE of Estacada, OR	3760	0%
Grasshopper Fire	Oregon	3 miles North of Sportmans Park, OR	92456	66%
Big Grass Fire	Oregon	Malheur County, Oregon and Owyhee County, Idaho	579008	85%
Wrights Spring	Oregon	2 Miles W of Sprague River OR	54131	55%
Rosenbaum Fire	Oregon	10 Miles NW of Spray, OR	483	72%
Cottonwood Fire	Oregon	15 miles southwest of Long Creek, Oregon	722	95%
Little Bear	Oregon	8 Miles NE of Mt. Vernon, OR	67	95%
Bologna Fire	Oregon	7 miles northeast of Kimberly, OR	4509	95%
Rowe Creek Complex	Oregon	10 Miles S of Fossil, OR	373981	89%
Picture Rock	Oregon	3 Miles N of Summer Lake, OR	1228	45%
Shingle Fire	Oregon	14 Miles SE of Mitchell, OR	73183	93%
Coyote Fire	Oregon	5 miles south of Post, OR	17459	93%
Henry Fire	Oregon	5 Miles S of PAULINA GUARD STATION, OR	29850	97%
Fielder Mountain	Oregon	1 mile west of Rogue River, OR	573	53%
Castle	Oregon	23 Miles NE of Tiller, OR	3613	94%
Fox Fire	Oregon	12 Miles NE of Huntington, OR	78903	90%
Powder River Fire	Oregon	4 Miles SW of RICHLAND, OR	21088	96%
Horse Ridge Fire	Oregon	25 Miles East of Pendleton, OR	860	98%
Burnt Creek Fire	Oregon	23 Miles N of Enterprise, OR	4169	87%
Bench	Oregon	4 miles south of Warm Springs, OR	67071	86%
Salmon Fire	Oregon	34 Miles SW of Baker City, OR	1433	88%
Akawa Butte Fire	Oregon	13 Miles NE of Sisters, OR	27491	99%
Hat Fire	Oregon	40 Miles East of Burns, OR	44122	99%
Hay Creek Complex	Oregon	Gilliam, Sherman and Wasco counties, Oregon	200292	97%
Anthony Fire	Oregon	34 miles north of Baker City, OR	2585	89%
Stubble	Oregon	15 Miles SW of Lawen, OR	15673	87%
Crater	Oregon	35 Miles S of Burns, OR	745	93%
Egypt Fire	Oregon	12 Miles N of Riley, OR	4595	68%
North Cayuse Fire	Oregon	15 miles east of Pendleton, OR.	4887	91%
Little Giant Fire	Washington	30 miles NW of Leavenworth, WA	138475	12%
Modrite Fire	Washington	17 Miles SW of Inchelium, WA	57595	98%
Kaiser Canyon	Washington	1 mile S of Nespelem, WA	138292	90%
Three Queens	Washington	6 Miles E of Snoqualmie Pass, WA	3793	2%
High Lava Fire	Washington	11 Miles NW of Stabler, WA	1562	8%
Backbone	Washington	7 miles north-east of Packwood, Washington	17	0%
Grand Park 2 Fire	Washington	Seven miles southwest of Snoquera, WA	167	67%
Sinlahekin Fire	Washington	12 Miles W of Tonasket, WA	154250	44%
Ptarmigan Fire	Washington	20 Miles NW of Mazama, WA	24721	55%
Reevas Basin	Washington	3 Miles SE of Tonasket, WA	250	60%
Luna Fire	Washington	10 Miles North of Newhalem, WA	4477	0%
Border 2 Fire	Washington	20 Miles NE of Marblemount, WA	7296	31%
Mount Tom Creek Fire	Washington	Olympic National Park	69	75%
Hudspeth Fire	Washington	3 miles northeast of Hunters, Washington	6726	96%
Bradeen Hill Fire	Washington	17 Miles SW of Colville, WA	4417	92%
Spokane Area Fires	Washington	Spokane County, Washington	9932	NA
Wells Road Fire	Washington	14 Miles NE of St John, WA	1865	78%
Skyo Fire	Washington	3 Miles SW of Packwood, WA	254	83%
Chelan Hills	Washington	1 Mile N of Orando	9735	75%

Source: InciWeb

Tags: smoke forecast