Started on Sep 14, 2026. 100% of the perimeter still to contain.
United States todayLive
Yesterday's image: fire shows in orange and red. NASA MODIS
Red dots: heat detected by satellite in the last 48h. NASA FIRMS
Quick facts
- Location
- 9 miles southwest of Crow Agency, MT
- Complexity
- Type 4 IncidentOfficial scale from 5 to 1: a Type 1 is the most complex in the country.
- What's burning
- Short Grass (1 foot)
- How it's behaving
- Extreme
- Jurisdiction
- BIA · Federal land
Glossary: what each term means
Barely moving. Low, thin smoke.
Burning without flame, in the ground or in roots. Can flare up days later.
Moves slowly, hugging the ground.
Spreads with low, steady flames.
Spreading evenly and steadily, with visible flame.
Fast and unpredictable.
Runs along the ground much faster than a person walks.
Grows along the sides, not head-on.
Moves against the wind or downhill, which makes it slower.
Climbs into the treetops and jumps crown to crown. It can't be attacked from the ground.
Climbs into the crowns in bursts and drops back down.
Whole trees flaring up like torches.
Single scattered trees flaring up whole, like torches.
Whole clumps of trees flaring at once.
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.
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.
Fueling by short grass just one foot high and driven by extreme fire behavior, the active Davis Coulee Fire has charred 2,000 acres in Big Horn County, Montana. Located nine miles southwest of Crow Agency, the federal incident on Bureau of Indian Affairs land remains completely uncontained as ground resources combat the fast-moving flames under a Type 4 Incident management structure led by a Type 4 Incident Commander.
Satellites monitoring the incident have detected 19 separate heat signatures over the last 48 hours, highlighting the ongoing spread of the blaze across the landscape. The remote fire's current progression unfolds against a broader national backdrop where 3,216,925 hectares have burned so far in 2026, tracking 41% below the country's two-decade average.
Operations and suppression efforts for the Davis Coulee Fire have accumulated an estimated cost of $100,000. These firefighting activities remain critical as the region navigates its typical fire season, which traditionally spans from June to October.
In context
This wildfire has been burning in Montana for less than a day. So far it has affected roughly 2,000 acres — about 8.1 km². Crews report no containment yet, so the fire can still spread.
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 3,216,925 hectares have burned so far in 2026 — 41% below the two-decade average. Data from Copernicus GWIS.
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Community reports
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