Smoke Forecast for Friday, August 21, 2026 8:30 AM

August 21 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.

Thursday afternoon, the most active fires burning in the state include the Deer Creek Fire, burning In Lincoln County. This fire has burned over 600 acres and will send smoke into the Flathead Valley and Glacier National Park in the coming days. The Cherry Peak Fire, just southeast of Thompson Falls, was also active Thursday. This wildfire has burned around 140 acres thus far. The Bobcat Lakes and Sand Creek Fires, burning in the Pioneer Mountains, perked up on Wednesday and were active again on Thursday. Expect these fires to send smoke into downstream communities like Twin Bridges, Whitehall, and even Bozeman over the next 24-hours. The Windmill Fire, burning in rural Stillwater County, remained active again on Thursday. It has burned more than 3,600 acres and will send smoke into places like Laurel and Billings again on Friday.

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

By Saturday afternoon, the Rapid Refresh Forecast System (RRFS) smoke model shows less smoke over the state thanks to clouds and cooler temperatures.

HRRR Smoke Model

Source: HRRR-smoke

Forecast

High pressure will be the main weather story again on Friday across Montana. This will produce another day with unseasonably warm temperatures. The combination of warm air, low humidity, and gusty afternoon winds will generate another day of active fire behavior on local and regional wildfires.

A trough will march across the Treasure State on Saturday. Showers and thunderstorms are possible for the region with the best chances for a soaking along and south of I-90. Thankfully, the combination of clouds, cooler air, and scattered precipitation should ease fire behavior and reduce smoke production. A cold front moves across the state Saturday night through early Sunday. It will bring much cooler and drier air to the state. Strong westerly winds and very dry air will lead to elevated fire weather conditions across the state. This will allow for rapid spread on emerging and established wildfires Sunday. Any cloud to ground lightning has the potential to produce new fire starts.

A ridge of high pressure builds back over the area early next week. Unfortunately, Washington and Oregon will see little to no precipitation over the weekend. As a result, we can expect to see haze and smoke transported from Pacific Northwest wildfires into Montana through much of the upcoming week. 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.

Friday 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	3906	38%
Moose Mountain	Idaho	Approximately 4 miles north of Kelly Forks Camp Ground	3249	7%
Little Weitas	Idaho	Approximately 19 miles East of Peirce, Idaho	400	NA
Porcupine Fire	Idaho	Approximately 7 miles NE of Clark Fork, ID.	127	0%
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%
Skillet Fire	Montana	15 miles west of Olney, MT	3369	82%
Bobcat Lakes	Montana	12 miles east of Wisdom	9925	40%
Sand Creek	Montana	7.5 miles southeast of Wisdom, Montana	31757	7%
Windmill Fire	Montana	8 miles north of Reed Point, MT, Stillwater County	3655	NA
Moose Fire	Montana	24 miles southwest of Philipsburg	5965	6%
Cherry Peak	Montana	11 Miles SE of Thompson Falls, MT	140	0%
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%
Second Flat	Oregon	Six miles NE of Riley, OR	105854	95%
Big Grass Fire	Oregon	Malheur County, Oregon and Owyhee County, Idaho	578635	85%
Grasshopper Fire	Oregon	3 miles North of Sportmans Park, OR	92456	71%
Bald Mountain	Oregon	50 Miles SE of Burns, OR	76443	95%
Coleman Creek	Oregon	~1 mile southeast of Juntura	308863	95%
Jackass Butte	Oregon	40 Miles S of Burns, OR	24724	92%
Austin Fire	Oregon	25 Miles SE of Estacada, OR	3765	0%
Wrights Spring	Oregon	2 Miles W of Sprague River OR	54131	55%
Paradise Fire	Oregon	15 miles south of Pendleton Oregon	6745	0%
East Evans Creek Fire	Oregon	14 Miles NE of Rogue River	15580	98%
Henry Fire	Oregon	5 Miles S of PAULINA GUARD STATION, OR	29850	97%
Coyote Fire	Oregon	5 miles south of Post, OR	17459	94%
Rowe Creek Complex	Oregon	10 Miles S of Fossil, OR	373981	89%
Shingle Fire	Oregon	14 Miles SE of Mitchell, OR	73183	93%
Rosenbaum Fire	Oregon	10 Miles NW of Spray, OR	483	89%
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%
Hagen Fire	Oregon	26 Miles East of Pendleton, OR	58646	19%
Picture Rock	Oregon	3 Miles N of Summer Lake, OR	1228	65%
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	57594	97%
Kaiser Canyon	Washington	1 mile S of Nespelem, WA	138284	90%
Grand Park 2 Fire	Washington	Seven miles southwest of Snoquera, WA	167	67%
Backbone	Washington	7 miles north-east of Packwood, Washington	17	0%
Three Queens	Washington	6 Miles E of Snoqualmie Pass, WA	3849	2%
Sinlahekin Fire	Washington	12 Miles W of Tonasket, WA	154298	47%
High Lava Fire	Washington	11 Miles NW of Stabler, WA	1717	19%
Luna Fire	Washington	10 Miles North of Newhalem, WA	4624	0%
Border 2 Fire	Washington	20 Miles NE of Marblemount, WA	7296	43%
Reevas Basin	Washington	3 Miles SE of Tonasket, WA	233	80%
Ptarmigan Fire	Washington	20 Miles NW of Mazama, WA	24721	55%
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