Smoke Forecast for Thursday, August 27, 2026 9:30 AM

August 27 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.

Wednesday afternoon, the most active fires burning in the state include the Camp Creek and Silvertip Fires, burning in the Bob Marshall Wilderness. The Camp Creek Fire has now burned over 7,200 acres and the Silvertip Fire has burned close to 6,900 acres. Southwesterly transport winds will send smoke into Shelby, Choteau, and Conrad on Thursday. The Nature Grove Fire, burning in the Sapphire Mountains just southeast of Hamilton, was also active on Wednesday. It has now burned over 500 acres. Southwesterly transport winds will push smoke from the Nature Grove Fire into communities like Phillipsburg and Deer Lodge on Thursday. The Bobcat Lakes and Sand Creek Fires, burning in the Pioneer Mountains, showed increased activity on Wednesday. Transport winds will be out of the southwest on Thursday. Expect these fires to send smoke into downstream communities like Wise River and Butte over the next 24-hours.

As of 9 AM, particulate levels in Great Falls are unhealthy for sensitive groups. Particulate levels in Columbia Falls, Frenchtown, Missoula, Thompson Falls, Great Falls, Libby, and Malta are moderate.

By Friday afternoon, the Rapid Refresh Forecast System (RRFS) smoke model shows areas of light surface smoke covering much of the state from regional wildfires. HRRR Smoke Model

Source: HRRR-smoke

Forecast

High pressure weakens and shifts east on Thursday. However, a southwesterly flow will persist across Montana, providing one more hot and windy day. The combination of unseasonably warm temperatures and gusty afternoon winds will lead to active fire conditions and increased smoke production on many regional wildfires. Widely scattered showers and thunderstorms are possible across the region by Thursday afternoon, with some storms containing frequent lightning and gusty winds.

An area of low-pressure marches inland on Friday, pushing a cold front across the state. Afternoon temperatures will be 5-10 degrees cooler than Thursday. Fire weather will remain elevated again on Friday because of gusty winds and the potential for dry thunderstorms. The strongest storms will contain wind gusts between 40-50 miles per hour which could lead to rapid fire growth on emerging and established wildfires.

Another cold front moves across the region on Saturday. Forecast models are starting to hint at better chances for a widespread soaking rainfall on Saturday. Areas south of I-90 have a better chance at seeing this soaking compared to communities to the north. The combination of clouds, cooler air, and precipitation should help to moderate fire behavior and limit smoke production on regional wildfires. The active weather pattern looks to stick around much of the following week as another low will bring additional precipitation chances around midweek. 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 monsoonal moisture surging north into the state with widespread smoke from regional wildfires.

Satellite Imagery of western US

Source: NOAA

Current Wildfires

Incident Name	State	Location	Acres	Containment
Parker Lake Fire	Idaho	It is located in Long Creek Canyon 20 miles NW of Bonners Ferry, ID in the Kootenai River Valley.	203	0%
Upper Smith Fire	Idaho	Six miles West of Porthill, Idaho	4576	36%
Crooked	Idaho	14 miles northeast of Idaho City Idaho, along the north fork of the Boise River	4927	0%
Silver Fire	Idaho	Southeast side of Silver Dollar Peak near Roman Nose.	250	0%
Moose Mountain	Idaho	Approximately 4 miles north of Kelly Forks Camp Ground	4591	8%
Selway Wilderness Fires	Idaho	22 miles East of Lowell, Idaho	4570	50%
Porcupine Fire	Idaho	Approximately 7 miles NE of Clark Fork, ID.	130	0%
Little Weitas	Idaho	Approximately 19 miles East of Peirce, Idaho	650	NA
Tartar	Idaho	21 Miles NW of Weiser, ID	158027	98%
Chimney Fire	Idaho	9 miles northwest of Fairfield, ID	6521	80%
Duncan	Idaho	50 Miles SW of Mountain Home, ID	16362	70%
Double Springs Fire	Idaho	31 miles Northwest of Mackay , ID	1779	35%
Sand Creek	Montana	7.5 miles southeast of Wisdom, Montana	33812	11%
Bobcat Lakes	Montana	12 miles east of Wisdom	10371	40%
Skillet Fire	Montana	15 miles west of Olney, MT	3409	82%
Deer Creek	Montana	18 Miles W of Marion, MT	989	32%
Moose Fire	Montana	24 miles southwest of Philipsburg	5965	10%
Cherry Peak	Montana	11 Miles SE of Thompson Falls, MT	173	68%
Camp Creek Fire	Montana	Within the Bob Marshall Wilderness 40 miles west of Augusta, Montana	7240	0%
Silvertip Fire	Montana	NA	6737	15%
Ant Park	Montana	NA	NA	NA
Nature Grove Fire	Montana	13 miles east of Hamilton south of Highway 38	676	0%
North Fork Fire	Montana	10 miles southwest of Hamilton, MT, north of North Fork Lost Horse Creek	118	70%
Black Bear Fire	Montana	15 Miles E of Hamilton, MT	2126	22%
Big Grass Fire	Oregon	Malheur County, Oregon and Owyhee County, Idaho	578637	93%
Wrights Spring	Oregon	2 Miles W of Sprague River OR	551333	65%
Paradise Fire	Oregon	15 miles south of Pendleton Oregon	9027	13%
Hagen Fire	Oregon	26 Miles East of Pendleton, OR	60372	33%
Austin Fire	Oregon	25 Miles SE of Estacada, OR	8781	0%
Grasshopper Fire	Oregon	14 miles SW of Dufur, OR	93806	76%
McCully Fire	Oregon	22 miles southwest of Baker City, Oregon	5971	0%
Rowe Creek Complex	Oregon	10 Miles S of Fossil, OR	373927	93%
Henry Fire	Oregon	5 Miles S of PAULINA GUARD STATION, OR	29844	97%
Coyote Fire	Oregon	5 miles south of Post, OR	17460	96%
Shingle Fire	Oregon	14 Miles SE of Mitchell, OR	73183	95%
Second Flat	Oregon	Six miles NE of Riley, OR	105854	99%
Jackass Butte	Oregon	40 Miles S of Burns, OR	24724	92%
Bald Mountain	Oregon	50 Miles SE of Burns, OR	76443	99%
Coleman Creek	Oregon	~1 mile southeast of Juntura	308863	99%
Picture Rock	Oregon	3 Miles N of Summer Lake, OR	1228	75%
Fielder Mountain	Oregon	1 mile west of Rogue River, OR	573	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%
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%
Sinlahekin Fire	Washington	12 Miles W of Tonasket, WA	162630	56%
Little Giant Fire	Washington	30 miles NW of Leavenworth, WA	155974	23%
Sisi Fire	Washington	10 miles northwest of Stehekin, WA	941	0%
King Fire	Washington	7 Miles NE of Snoqualmie Pass, WA	960	0%
Goat	Washington	15 Miles N of Ronald, WA	178	0%
Three Queens	Washington	6 Miles E of Snoqualmie Pass, WA	7758	13%
Wonderland Complex	Washington	9 Miles SE of Snoquera, WA	402	0%
Grand Park 2 Fire	Washington	Seven miles southwest of Snoquera, WA	168	82%
Backbone	Washington	7 miles northeast of Packwood, Washington	17	62%
Skyo Fire	Washington	3 Miles SW of Packwood, WA	254	99%
Colwash	Washington	5 Miles W of Mabton, WA	39073	95%
Hill Loop	Washington	13 miles N of Kettle Falls, WA	127	90%
Kaiser Canyon	Washington	1 mile S of Nespelem, WA	138293	98%
Modrite Fire	Washington	17 Miles SW of Inchelium, WA	57594	98%
Luna Fire	Washington	10 Miles North of Newhalem, WA	4751	0%
Border 2 Fire	Washington	20 Miles NE of Marblemount, WA	7467	41%
Ptarmigan Fire	Washington	20 Miles NW of Mazama, WA	24770	55%
Reevas Basin	Washington	3 Miles SE of Tonasket, WA	233	80%
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%
Chelan Hills	Washington	1 Mile N of Orando	9735	75%

Source: InciWeb

Tags: smoke forecast