Sand Creek Fire, Wisdom, MT, 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

Location5 miles east of Wisdom, MT

What's burningTimber (Litter 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$38.4 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 Beaverhead, Montana, the Sand Creek Fire is now contained after a remarkably long endurance of 89 days, having started on August 1, 2026. Over the course of its months-long progression, the incident expanded at an average daily growth of 399 acres per day, ultimately reaching a footprint of 35,520 acres on federal timber land with litter and understory fuels.

Currently exhibiting minimal, creeping, and smoldering fire behavior, the incident is managed under a Type 3 Incident framework with a Type 5 Incident Commander and a single personnel deployed. The operation, overseen by the USFS, has accumulated a total cost of about $38.4 million.

This Montana fire unfolded during the region's typical fire season, which runs from June to October. Nationally, the broader context shows that 3,473,090 hectares have burned so far in 2026, tracking 37% below the two-decade average.