Black Bear Fire, Hamilton, Montana

True view Fire view

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True view (left): as the eye sees it.
Fire view (right): infrared (SWIR), sees through smoke and brings out the heat.

🟢 green = vegetation
🟤 brown = already burned
🟠 orange = fire right now

Drag to compare: normal photo on the left, heat brought out on the right.

Green: vegetationBrown: already burnedOrange: fire right nowSentinel-2 · Copernicus

Key facts

Source: NIFC

Location15 miles east of Hamilton, MT

CauseNatural

What's burningTimber (Litter and Understory)

How it's behavingMinimalCreeping — Moves slowly, hugging the ground.Smoldering — Burning without flame, in the ground or in roots. Can flare up days later.Backing — Moves against the wind or downhill, which makes it slower.

ComplexityType 3 IncidentOfficial scale from 5 to 1: a Type 1 is the most complex in the country.

JurisdictionUSFS · Federal land

Cost so far$1.4 million

Glossary: what each term means

Minimal

Barely moving. Low, thin smoke.

Smoldering

Burning without flame, in the ground or in roots. Can flare up days later.

Creeping

Moves slowly, hugging the ground.

Moderate

Spreads with low, steady flames.

Active

Spreading evenly and steadily, with visible flame.

Extreme

Fast and unpredictable.

Running

Runs along the ground much faster than a person walks.

Flanking

Grows along the sides, not head-on.

Backing

Moves against the wind or downhill, which makes it slower.

Crowning

Climbs into the treetops and jumps crown to crown. It can't be attacked from the ground.

Short Crown Runs

Climbs into the crowns in bursts and drops back down.

Torching

Whole trees flaring up like torches.

Isolated Torching

Single scattered trees flaring up whole, like torches.

Group Torching

Whole clumps of trees flaring at once.

Spotting

Wind carries embers through the air and starts new fires ahead of the front: that is how a fire jumps a road or a firebreak.

Wind Driven Runs

The wind pushes it in long runs in one direction.

The ones marked ● are the behaviors that make a fire harder to stop. They are not a warning or an instruction: they are the description written by the agency in charge. For decisions, always follow your emergency services.

The story so far

The Black Bear Fire in Ravalli County, Montana, located 15 miles east of Hamilton, burned for 93 days after starting on August 2, 2026. Over the course of its lengthy run, the fire grew at an average rate of about 23 acres per day, ultimately scorching 2,126 acres of federal timberland, including litter and understory fuels. The natural-cause fire was managed under a Type 3 Incident with a single personnel involved, backed by the USDA Forest Service. Operations accumulated a cost of about $1.4 million.

By the time the fire reached 100 percent containment and officially ended, its behavior had moderated to minimal, creeping, smoldering, and backing activity. The incident unfolded against the backdrop of the region's typical fire season, which runs from June to October. Nationally, the broader fire landscape through 2026 saw 3,478,679 hectares burned, tracking 37 percent below the two-decade average.