Cottonwood Creek Fire (Montana)
Started on Sep 10, 2026.
United States todayLive
True color
Fire (SWIR)
Infrared / SWIR (right): sees through smoke.
🟢 green = vegetation
🟤 red/brown = burned
🟠 orange = active fire
Imagery: Sentinel-2 (Copernicus). Drag to compare smoke vs. infrared.
Heat detections: NASA FIRMS (last 48h).
Quick facts
- Location
- Big Horn County
- Jurisdiction
- Private land
Burning across private land in Big Horn County, Montana, the active Cottonwood Creek Fire has scorched 456 acres since it started on September 10, 2026. This incident unfolds during the region's typical fire season, which runs from June to October.
Nationwide, the broader wildfire landscape shows 3,201,049 hectares burned so far in 2026, tracking 42% below the two-decade average.
In context
This wildfire has been burning in Montana for 1 day. So far it has affected roughly 456 acres — about 1.8 km².
In the Northern Hemisphere, wildfire activity usually peaks during the warm, dry months — roughly May through October.
The bigger picture in United States
Across United States, roughly 3,207,126 hectares have burned so far in 2026 — 41% below the two-decade average. Data from Copernicus GWIS.
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