Moose Fire, Philipsburg, Montana (2026)

This fire in numbersDay 73

2,430Hectares6,005Acres73Days burning

Containment37%

Started on Jul 26, 2026. 63% of the perimeter still to contain.

United States todayLive

60Active936Hotspots 48h820 kHectares

Last 7 days · steady

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Moose Fire (Montana) — Sentinel-2 true color

Moose Fire (Montana) — Sentinel-2 SWIR (fuego)

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

Red dots: heat detected by satellite in the last 48h. NASA FIRMS

Active fires nearby3 · 100 km

20KM NWNature Grove Fire1,422 acres · 0% contained 61KM SEBobcat Lakes Fire10,896 acres · 95% contained 64KM SESand Creek Fire35,520 acres · 83% contained

Within 100 kmSee on map →

Quick facts

Location: 24 miles southwest of Philipsburg, MT
People working on it: 1 people
Complexity: Type 5 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: MinimalSmoldering — Burning without flame, in the ground or in roots. Can flare up days later.Creeping — Moves slowly, hugging the ground.
Jurisdiction: USFS · Federal land

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.

Burning across the timbered terrain of Granite County, Montana, the active Moose Fire has now been on the landscape for 67 days since starting on July 26, 2026. Located 24 miles southwest of Philipsburg, the incident is managed by a Type 5 Incident Command under the United States Forest Service on federal land. Over its nearly two-month trajectory, the fire has maintained an average daily growth of approximately 90 acres per day, accumulating a total footprint of 6,005 acres while reaching 37 percent containment.

Current fire behavior on the Moose Fire is characterized as minimal, with smoldering and creeping observed within the timber, grass, and understory fuels. The operation currently involves a minimal personnel count of 1 responder, backed by a cumulative suppression cost of $12,655,002.

This incident unfolds during the region's typical fire season, which runs from June to October. Nationally, the broader fire landscape in 2026 presents a contrasting picture, with 3,307,295 hectares burned so far—a figure sitting 40 percent below the two-decade average.

In context

This wildfire has been burning in Montana for 72 days. So far it has affected roughly 6,005 acres — about 24 km². Crews have contained 37% of the perimeter, but most of the fire line is still open.

In the Northern Hemisphere, wildfire activity usually peaks during the warm, dry months — roughly May through October.