Silvertip Fire, Condon, Montana

True view Fire view

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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

Location30 miles northeast of Condon, MT

CauseNatural

What's burningTimber (Litter and Understory)

How it's behavingMinimalSmoldering — Burning without flame, in the ground or in roots. Can flare up days later.Flanking — Grows along the sides, not head-on.

ComplexityType 4 IncidentOfficial scale from 5 to 1: a Type 1 is the most complex in the country.

JurisdictionUSFS · Federal land

Cost so far$375,000

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

Summary written on Sep 17, while the fire was still active. It has since ended — the figures above are current.

Burning across Flathead County in Montana, the Silvertip Fire has spent 55 days active in the landscape after starting on July 24, 2026, averaging an approximate daily growth of 132 acres per day. Located 30 miles northeast of Condon, the federal incident on USFS land has expanded to 7,280 acres.

With containment now reaching 100 percent, current fire behavior on the timber, litter, and understory fuels is minimal, characterized by smoldering and flanking. Management of the natural-cause fire falls under a Type 4 Incident with a single person assigned and a total cost of $375,000.

This Montana incident unfolds during a broader regional fire season that typically runs from June to October. Nationally, 3,243,965 hectares have burned so far in 2026, marking a figure that is 41 percent below the two-decade average.