Smoke Forecast for Wednesday, September 2, 2026 9:30 AM

September 02 2026

Current Conditions

Beneficial rain fell on southwest Montana on Tuesday. This is the area of the state with the most active wildfires continuing to burn. Between ½” to ¾” fell on much of the Sapphire and Pioneer Mountains where a handful of wildfires are located. Much lighter precipitation totals were received in central Idaho where several wildfires continue to expand and smolder. Despite the precipitation, there are still numerous hotspots visible on several southwest Montana wildfires.

As of 8 AM, particulate levels in Malta, Columbia Falls, Libby, Frenchtown, Missoula, and Great Falls are moderate.

By Thursday afternoon, the Rapid Refresh Forecast System (RRFS) smoke model shows much less surface smoke over the state thanks to clouds, cooler air, and precipitation.

HRRR Smoke Model

Source: HRRR-smoke

Forecast

An area of low pressure over California marches across Montana on Wednesday along with a Pacific cold front. Showers and thunderstorms will accompany this feature. Parts of southwest Montana will miss out on this precipitation. The combination of low humidity and gusty winds will create elevated fire weather conditions over the Pioneer and Sapphire Mountains where numerous wildfires continue to burn.

The trough remains in place over the Northern Rockies through Friday. This will provide near-normal temperatures and daily chances for showers and thunderstorms. The bulk of the precipitation will be focused west of the Continental Divide and along the Montana/Idaho border.

The trough should linger into this weekend. The pattern will produce near-normal temperatures and afternoon or early evening showers and thunderstorms. A more substantial system is expected to be around the region by Monday, bringing the threat for widespread and heavy rain. However, this feature is a cut off low and these types of systems are often difficult to forecast. As long as the trough remains in place over the Northern Rockies and Pacific Northwest, regional wildfire activity will remain relatively quiet. 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.

Wednesday morning’s satellite image shows a trough moving into the Northern Rockies and limited wildfire smoke.

Satellite Imagery of western US

Source: NOAA

Current Wildfires

Incident Name	State	Location	Acres	Containment
Crooked	Idaho	14 miles northeast of Idaho City Idaho, along the North Fork of the Boise River	9720	21%
Silver Fire	Idaho	Southeast side of Silver Dollar Peak near Roman Nose	2545	0%
Dudley Fire	Idaho	Five miles north of Wallace Idaho	717	78%
Upper Smith Fire	Idaho	Six miles West of Porthill, Idaho	4808	42%
Parker Lake Fire	Idaho	It is located in Long Creek Canyon 20 miles NW of Bonners Ferry, ID in the Kootenai River Valley.	1429	0%
Border Fire	Idaho	3 miles W of Porthill, ID	46	38%
Selway Wilderness Fires	Idaho	22 miles East of Lowell, Idaho	6800	50%
Moose Mountain	Idaho	Approximately 4 miles north of Kelly Forks Camp Ground	5487	8%
Porcupine Fire	Idaho	Approximately 7 miles NE of Clark Fork, ID.	180	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%
Bobcat Lakes	Montana	12 miles east of Wisdom	10828	54%
Sand Creek	Montana	7.5 miles southeast of Wisdom, Montana	34733	15%
Moose Fire	Montana	24 miles southwest of Philipsburg	6003	14%
Silvertip Fire	Montana	NA	7272	15%
Camp Creek Fire	Montana	Within the Bob Marshall Wilderness 40 miles west of Augusta, Montana	9613	0%
Deer Creek	Montana	18 Miles W of Marion, MT	1099	96%
Skillet Fire	Montana	15 miles west of Olney, MT	3409	82%
Nature Grove Fire	Montana	13 miles east of Hamilton south of Highway 38	1274	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%
Austin Fire	Oregon	25 Miles SE of Estacada, OR	12610	0%
Rowe Creek Complex	Oregon	10 Miles S of Fossil, OR	373927	96%
McCully Fire	Oregon	22 miles northwest of Baker City, Oregon	13479	4%
Hagen Fire	Oregon	26 Miles East of Pendleton, OR	61305	53%
Paradise Fire	Oregon	18 Miles E of Milton-Freewater, Oregon	9593	22%
Wrights Spring	Oregon	2 Miles W of Sprague River OR	55134	95%
Grasshopper Fire	Oregon	14 miles SW of Dufur, OR	93972	83%
Burnt Creek Fire	Oregon	23 Miles N of Enterprise, Oregon	4169	95%
Big Grass Fire	Oregon	25 Miles SW of JORDAN VALLEY, OR	578637	94%
Anthony Fire	Oregon	34 miles north of Baker City, Oregon	2585	96%
Camp Creek Fire	Oregon	Zigzag Ranger District, 10 miles east of Sandy, OR	2055	62%
Horse Ridge Fire	Oregon	25 Miles East of Pendleton, OR	860	98%
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%
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%
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%
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	166353	38%
Little Giant Fire	Washington	30 miles NW of Leavenworth, WA	170784	51%
Sisi Fire	Washington	10 miles northwest of Stehekin, WA	2244	0%
Ptarmigan Fire	Washington	20 Miles NW of Mazama, WA	25166	55%
Three Queens	Washington	6 Miles E of Snoqualmie Pass, WA	9349	8%
Wonderland Complex	Washington	9 Miles SE of Buckley, WA	379	0%
Backbone	Washington	7 miles northeast of Packwood, Washington	17	89%
High Lava	Washington	11 Miles NW of Stabler, WA	2894	39%
Luna Fire	Washington	10 Miles North of Newhalem, WA	7648	34%
Border 2 Fire	Washington	20 Miles NE of Marblemount, WA	8043	72%
Electric Fire	Washington	7 Miles N of Marblemount, WA	622	0%
Goat	Washington	15 Miles N of Ronald, WA	668	0%
King Fire	Washington	7 Miles NE of Snoqualmie Pass, WA	2133	0%
Hill Loop	Washington	13 miles N of Kettle Falls, WA	127	95%
Colwash	Washington	5 Miles W of Mabton, WA	39073	95%
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