Smoke Forecast for Wednesday, August 5, 2026 9:00 AM
Current Conditions
Moderating temperatures on Tuesday allowed numerous regional wildfires to expand.
Tuesday afternoon, the most active Montana wildfires were burning in the Pioneer and Sapphire Mountains. The Bobcat Lakes and Sand Creek Fires have each grown to over 1,000 acres. An incident meteorologist was ordered for the Bobcat Lakes Fire to provide additional support on that blaze. The Moose Fire, burning in the Sapphire Mountains between Georgetown Lake and the Bitterroot Valley, exhibited active fire behavior Tuesday afternoon. There are also several active fires burning on the Idaho side of the border in the Bitterroot Mountains. These fires will keep skies smoky over Ravalli, Mineral, and Missoula Counties through at least Thursday.
At 9:00 AM Wednesday, particulate levels in Havre, Butte, Great Falls, Hamilton, Missoula, Helena, Sleeping Giant, Columbia Falls, Cut Bank, Dillon, Frenchtown, Libby, Bozeman, Billings, Missoula and Thompson Falls are Moderate.
By Thursday afternoon, the Rapid Refresh Forecast System (RRFS) smoke model shows light to moderate surface smoke covering much of Montana.
Source: HRRR-smoke
Forecast
Air Quality Alerts were allowed to expire early Wednesday morning as 24-hour cumulative air quality values have remained below 35 ug/m3. A ridge of high pressure builds across the region through the end of the week. This will lead to a dramatic warming trend and allow regional wildfires to become more active. Overall, wildfire behavior has eased some thanks to a seasonably cool start to the week. Compared to 48-hours ago, there is significantly less surface smoke over western Montana.
On Friday, the ridge starts to flatten, allowing winds to pick up Friday and Saturday afternoons. High temperatures on Friday and Saturday will climb well into the 90s in most valley locations. The combination of unseasonably warm air, low humidity, and gusty winds will create critical fire weather conditions. This will allow rapid spread on emerging and established wildfires.
Monsoonal moisture will surge north in Montana by early next week. This has the potential to bring some much-needed precipitation to the Treasure State. Long range models are hinting at this starting around Tuesday. However, there is still a lot of uncertainty with regards to how it pans out. If widespread rain does materialize, it would help to ease fire behavior and reduce smoke production. 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.
Smoke remains visible across much of the state early Wednesday from regional wildfires.
Source: NOAA
| Incident Name | State | Location | Acres | Containment |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Moose Mountain | Idaho | Approximately 4 miles north of Kelly Forks Camp Ground | 580 | 0% |
| Tartar | Idaho | 21 Miles NW of Weiser, ID | 138271 | 41% |
| Upper Smith Fire | Idaho | Six miles West of Porthill, Idaho | 2305 | 40% |
| Cascade | Idaho | 22 miles East of Lowell, Idaho | 2000 | NA |
| Porcupine Fire | Idaho | NA | 10 | 0% |
| 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% |
| Moose | Montana | 24 miles southwest of Philipsburg | 725 | 0% |
| Skillet Fire | Montana | 15 miles west of Olney, MT | 2700 | 0% |
| Ant Park | Montana | NA | NA | NA |
| Silvertip Fire | Montana | NA | 6196 | NA |
| Sand Creek | Montana | 7.5 miles southeast of Wisdom, Montana | 1400 | NA |
| Bobcat Lakes | Montana | 12 miles east of Wisdom | 1829 | 0% |
| Elder 1 Fire | Montana | 7 Miles west of Frenchtown, MT | 1234 | 93% |
| North Fork Fire | Montana | 10 miles southwest of Hamilton, MT, north of North Fork Lost Horse Creek | 118 | 0% |
| Butterfly Fire | Montana | 12 miles East of Hamilton, MT | 70 | NA |
| Black Bear Fire | Montana | 15 Miles E of Hamilton, MT | 35 | NA |
| Second Flat | Oregon | Six miles NE of Riley, OR | 105464 | 55% |
| Coleman Creek | Oregon | ~1 mile southeast of Juntura | 278128 | 32% |
| Castle | Oregon | 23 Miles NE of Tiller, OR | 2796 | 35% |
| Jackass Butte | Oregon | 40 Miles S of Burns, OR | 24724 | 78% |
| Bald Mountain | Oregon | 50 Miles SE of Burns, OR | 78231 | 30% |
| Paradise Fire | Oregon | 15 miles south of Pendleton Oregon | 1664 | NA |
| Hat Fire | Oregon | 40 Miles East of Burns, OR | 44122 | 99% |
| Rowe Creek Complex | Oregon | 10 Miles S of Fossil, OR | 325265 | 57% |
| Big Grass Fire | Oregon | 25 Miles CW of Jordan Valley, OR | 358959 | 35% |
| Shingle Fire | Oregon | 14 Miles SE of Mitchell, OR | 70551 | 50% |
| Coyote Fire | Oregon | 5 miles south of Post, OR | 17488 | 89% |
| Henry Fire | Oregon | 5 Miles S of PAULINA GUARD STATION, OR | 29850 | 92% |
| Powder River Fire | Oregon | 4 Miles SW of RICHLAND, OR | 21088 | 96% |
| Fox Fire | Oregon | 12 Miles NE of Huntington, OR | 78828 | 61% |
| Akawa Butte Fire | Oregon | 13 Miles NE of Sisters, OR | 27491 | 99% |
| Bob Creek Fire | Oregon | 1 mile north of Oxbow, OR | 851 | 72% |
| Grasshopper | Oregon | 3 miles North of Sportmans Park, OR | 34659 | 19% |
| Salmon Fire | Oregon | 34 Miles SW of Baker City, OR | 1426 | 79% |
| Burnt Creek Fire | Oregon | 23 Miles N of Enterprise, OR | 4169 | 70% |
| Bench | Oregon | 4 miles south of Warm Springs, OR | 67078 | 84% |
| Horse Ridge Fire | Oregon | 25 Miles East of Pendleton, OR | 860 | 98% |
| Hagen Fire | Oregon | 26 Miles East of Pendleton, OR | 39926 | 11% |
| Bologna Fire | Oregon | 7 miles northeast of Kimberly, OR | 2425 | 96% |
| 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% |
| Spokane Area Fires | Washington | Spokane County, Washington | 10546 | 0% |
| Mitre Rock Fire | Washington | Nineteen miles northwest of Davenport, WA. | 4439 | 0% |
| Sinlahekin Fire | Washington | 12 Miles W of Tonasket, WA | 117078 | 9% |
| Hudspeth Fire | Washington | 3 miles northeast of Hunters, Washington | 5820 | 0% |
| Bradeen Hill Fire | Washington | 17 Miles SW of Colville, WA | 4418 | 42% |
| Kaiser Canyon | Washington | 1 mile S of Nespelem, WA | 136713 | 48% |
| Modrite Fire | Washington | 17 Miles SW of Inchelium, WA | 51836 | 35% |
| Little Giant Fire | Washington | 30 miles NW of Leavenworth, WA | 70853 | 0% |
| Luna Fire | Washington | 10 Miles north of Newhalem, WA | 1141 | 0% |
| Skyo Fire | Washington | 3 Miles SW of Packwood, WA | 254 | 69% |
| Ptarmigan Fire | Washington | 25 Miles NW of Mazama, WA | 15952 | 0% |
| Border 2 Fire | Washington | 20 Miles NE of Marblemount, WA | 5102 | 0% |
| Mount Tom Creek Fire | Washington | Olympic National Park | 69 | 75% |
| Chelan Hills | Washington | 1 Mile N of Orando | 9735 | 75% |
Tags: smoke forecast