A variety of extreme weather brought Northwest Montana’s 2026 fire season roaring back to life last week.

While the cause remains unknown, the Deer Creek Fire is the largest blaze of the new starts. Very hot, dry and windy conditions allowed the fire, first reported the afternoon of Thursday, Aug. 20, to grow rapidly from single digits to hundreds of acres. 

However, there are no evacuations or closure orders, according to fire officials. They do ask members of the public to avoid the Pleasant Valley area to allow emergency access by responders and ensure firefighter and public safety.

According to the Montana Department of Conservation and Natural Resources Northwestern Land Office’s Monday update, the fire is listed at 963 acres after more accurate mapping was done from aircraft.

Smoke from the blaze could be seen several miles north and west of Happy’s and as far east at the Flathead Valley.

DCNR crews put a ton of resources on the blaze as it chewed up ground on primarily Green Diamond Resources land six miles north of Happy’s Inn.

The aerial resources included helicopters and DC-10 Airtankers.

The tanker is capable of carrying 9,400 gallons of water or fire retardant from a belly-mounted tank. 

Celebrating its 20th anniversary, the tanker is part of 10 Tanker Air Carrier, based in Albuquerque, New Mexico. 10 Tanker has dropped According to an Aug. 14 post on the company’s Facebook page, its planes have dropped more than 3.3 million gallons of fire retardant while serving multiple ground crews during this wildfire season.

A Northern Rockies Team 9, Type 3 Incident Management Team assumed command of the fire Sunday.

Sunday, firefighters completed the fire line from the anchor point along the Pleasant Valley Fisher River on the northern edge of the fire with heavy equipment and hand crews. Crews are mopping up along the northern side. Crews have nearly completed the hose lay along the northeastern and southwestern sides up to  the ridge top. Because of gusty winds and new starts in the area, aircraft use was minimal.

Monday, officials said firefighters and heavy equipment will continue building line along the southern edge of the fire and expect to make good progress connecting roads to be used as holding features. 

If fair weather holds, crews anticipate completing the hose lay along the eastern edge of the fire and will cool hot spots. 

Friday evening, firefighters conducted a burn operation along the northwestern edge of the fire to establish a secure anchor point. These operations intentionally remove unburned vegetation between the fire’s edge and established holding features, creating a wider area of black that provides firefighters with a secure control line which prevents further spread.

According to the National Weather Service, a warming and drying trend is expected over the next few days. Winds will be from the southeast in the morning, shifting to southwest and upslope by afternoon, and are expected to be light. The fire behavior is expected to be moderate, with little fire growth from the wind.

Saturday’s thunderstorms produced countless lightning strikes and several new fire starts across Northwest Montana. It also saw thousands lose power across the region, but power was restored for most late Saturday or early Sunday. About 165 remained without power Monday morning in Flathead County.

According to the Kootenai Dispatch Center, four new fire starts were recorded since Saturday, but all are listed as under control. There were also eight smoke checks.

According to the Kalispell Dispatch Center, eight new fire starts were recorded with two under control. There were also two smoke checks and many were false alarms.

On the Lolo National Forest, Sanders and Mineral counties had a few new starts, but most were under control Monday morning.

The largest new fire was actually reported Aug. 18 on Cherry Peak in Sanders County. It was listed at 200 acres Monday after crews used handheld GPS units to walk the fire’s edge and confirm the updated size.

Crews completed line construction around the entire fire perimeter, bringing it to 44% contained. On the northeast end, crews cold trailed the fire’s edge and found no remaining heat that could threaten the line. Fire activity remained minimal across the fire area Sunday. No aerial suppression support was needed by ground crews, leaving aircraft support limited to supply missions and crew transport.

Firefighters are being released from the incident and made available to respond to new fires in the area. They include two engine crews and the heli-rappelers. 

On the lightning-caused Skillet Fire, which started July 29 and is at nearly 3,400 acres, fire crews work has it at 82% contained. It has burned ground in both Lincoln and Flathead counties.

According to fire officials, multiple resources and equipment from the Skillet Fire were sent to support suppression efforts on the Adams Fire and Trixie Fire, both new starts Saturday in Flathead County.

   A helicopter heads to drop water on the Deer Creek Fire Thursday, Aug. 20, 2026, after a pickup from Lynch Lake near the Lost Trail National Wildlife Refuge. (Scott Shindledecker/The Western News)

    A DC-10 Airtanker flies over McGregor Lake Thursday, Aug. 20, 2026, on its way to the Deer Creek Fire. The tanker is capable of carrying 9,400 gallons of water or fire retardant from a belly-mounted tank. (Scott Shindledecker/The Western News)
  

    Smoke from the Deer Creek Fire drifts into Pleasant Valley Thursday, Aug. 20, 2026, near the Lost Trail National Wildlife Refuge. (Scott Shindledecker/The Western News)