Bobcat Lakes Fire, Wisdom, Montana

True view Fire view

⟷

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

Location12 miles east of Wisdom, MT

What's burningTimber (Grass 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.

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

JurisdictionUSFS · Federal land

Cost so far$17.1 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

Burning across 10,896 acres of federal timber and grass understory in Beaverhead County, Montana, the Bobcat Lakes Fire is currently contained 12 miles east of Wisdom. Managed by a Type 5 Incident Commander under a Type 3 Incident classification, the fire has maintained a slow trajectory over its 90 days burning, averaging about 121 acres per day of growth. Fire behavior is noted as minimal, creeping, and smoldering, with just 2 personnel assigned to the response by the USFS.

Suppression efforts for this incident have reached a total cost of about $17.1 million since the fire started on July 31, 2026. The state's typical fire season spans from June to October, aligning with the timeline of this timberland incident.

Nationwide, the broader context shows that 3,473,090 hectares have burned so far in 2026, marking a figure 37% below the two-decade average.