Started on Aug 3, 2026.
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
- 25 miles southeast of Ashland, MT
- Cause
- Natural
- People working on it
- 50 people
- Complexity
- Type 4 IncidentOfficial scale from 5 to 1: a Type 1 is the most complex in the country.
- What's burning
- Timber (Grass and Understory)
- How it's behaving
- MinimalBacking — Moves against the wind or downhill, which makes it slower.Smoldering — Burning without flame, in the ground or in roots. Can flare up days later.
- Jurisdiction
- USFS · 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.
Burning across 738 acres of federal timber and grass understory in Powder River County, Montana, the active Griffin Fire has consumed land at an approximate daily growth rate of 369 acres over its first two days of burning. Located 25 miles southeast of Ashland, satellites are picking up eight heat signatures in the 48-hour window, mapping the spread of the front near its federal land base under USFS management.
Observed behavior on the ground shows moderate, backing, and smoldering conditions as 54 personnel battle the natural-cause blaze, achieving 20 percent containment. Operating under a Type 4 Incident management structure, firefighting efforts have accumulated a cost of $750,000.
This fire occurs during the region's typical fire season, which runs from June to October. Nationally, the broader context shows 2,572,960 hectares burned so far in 2026, marking a figure that is 53 percent below the two-decade average.
In context
This wildfire burned in Montana for 3 days. In total it burned about 738 acres — around 3.0 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 3,243,965 hectares have burned so far in 2026 — 41% below the two-decade average. Data from Copernicus GWIS.
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Community reports
Reports from people near the fire · unverified
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