Sarpy Fire (Montana)
Started on Aug 17, 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).
Active fires nearby2 · 100 km
Quick facts
- Location
- 8 Miles E from Hardin, MT
- Cause
- Natural
- Personnel
- 9
- Complexity
- Type 4 Incident
- Fuel
- Short Grass (1 foot)
- Behavior
- Minimal
- Jurisdiction
- BIA · Federal land
Burning across federal land in Big Horn County, Montana, the active Sarpy Fire is located eight miles east of Hardin and has been spreading for seven days at an approximate average rate of 128 acres per day. Managed by a Type 4 Incident Command, the 897-acre blaze is currently 80 percent contained and exhibits minimal fire behavior within short grass fuels standing about one foot tall.
The natural-cause fire involves nine personnel operating under the Bureau of Indian Affairs, accumulating costs totaling $175,000. This incident unfolds during the region's typical fire season, which runs from June to October. Nationally, the broader fire context shows that 2,993,191 hectares have burned so far in 2026, tracking 45 percent below the two-decade average.
In context
This wildfire burned in Montana for 11 days. In total it burned about 897 acres — around 3.6 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 3,216,670 hectares have burned so far in 2026 — 41% below the two-decade average. Data from Copernicus GWIS.
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