Wildfire season roared into Northwest Montana last week after hundreds of lightning strikes spawned dozens of fires.

Lincoln County saw the bulk of the strikes following a series of thunderstorms Thursday and Friday. Sanders and Mineral counties also saw some lightning-caused fires while Flathead County had a few starts as well. 

The Forest recently went into “High” fire danger status after multiple weeks at “Medium.”

Kootenai National Forest officials announced a trail closure for the Williams Creek Trail and Scenery Mountain Trail network west of Libby.

The Williams Fire, first reported July 8, is the largest fire and was listed at 21 acres Saturday night with a federal Interagency Hotshot Crew working directly along the fire’s edge on a direct extinguishment strategy. It was burning at nearly 5,400 feet elevation in very steep and rugged ground.

Firefighters anticipated fire line around the perimeter of the fire by the end of shift on Saturday.

Between Thursday, July 16, and Saturday, July 18, the Kootenai Interagency Dispatch Center received 57 smoke reports within the zone resulting in 36 confirmed wildfires. From Sunday, July 19 to Monday, July 20, four more smoke checks were reported and three wildfires were found. Two were contained.

“We would like to thank the public for their diligent reporting of wildfires,” KNF officials said.

Firefighters are prioritizing wildfires based on critical values at risk and have a strategy for all known wildfires. Engines, hand crews, heavy equipment and aircraft are being utilized to work directly along each fire’s perimeter.

Fire crews included federal, state, local and private.

As of Monday morning, several of the recent fires were contained, controlled or out.

North of Libby, the Tub Gulch Fire was listed at one-tenth of an acre and under control. It burned at about 4,400 feet elevation. A fire fighting helicopter spent considerable time pulling water from the Kootenai River and dumping on the fire, about two or three miles northwest of the old Rainy Creek Mine site.

Libby Volunteer Fire Department crews worked with Lincoln County Landfill staff to stop a fire Friday evening at the dump. The cause was not immediately known.

The other sizable fire in the Kootenai National Forest is the 33-acre Advent Creek blaze. It is another high elevation blaze at about 6,000 feet, located 15 miles west of Olney.

The 6.5-acre Rice Fire is on the other side of the Kootenai, about 5 1/2 miles southeast of Heron and at about 4,100 feet.

As of Monday morning, air quality in Libby and Troy is moderate.  Keep up-to-date at: https://fire.airnow.gov/. 

For unusually sensitive people, health experts say they should consider making outdoor activities light and short as well as going inside to cleaner air if they experience symptoms.

Saturday afternoon, upper-level winds transported additional smoke from regional wildfires into Northwest Montana. Monsoonal moisture may provide daily chances for thunderstorms throughout the coming week.

Across the west, numerous wildfires have started across Washington, Oregon and Idaho over the past 48 to 72 hours.

In north Idaho, the Turner Fire is up to 681 acres and the Upper Smith Fire is at 748 acres. The Upper Smith blaze was reported July 8 while the Turner was called in a week later, July 15.

A full suppression effort brought containment of the Turner Fire on Monday to 63%. The Upper Smith was at 0% containment.

"We're very, very thankful for the work that went into both (the Turner and Smith fires) by the local fire department resources, U.S. Forest Service, U.S. Wildland Fire Service and the Idaho Department of Lands, they've set us up for success," Mark Goeller, deputy incident commander for Northern Rockies Complex Incident Management Team 1, told the Bonner County Daily Bee.

Goeller said the Northern Rockies CIMT 1 was scheduled to work both fire for the next two weeks. Both Smith Creek Road and Long Canyon Trail were closed to public travel. Closures in the Westside and Kerr Lake road areas, as well as a closure of Riverside Street, are connected to county projects.

According to the Boundary County Sheriff's Office, evacuation orders on the Turner Hill Fire were downgraded July 18 and residents in areas previously under a “Go” order were allowed to return to their homes at their discretion.

    Libby Volunteer Fire Department firefighters and Lincoln County Landfill staff worked to extinguish a fire Friday, July 17, 2026, at the dump outside Libby. (Scott Shindledecker/The Western News)
  

    A Minuteman fire fighting helicopter fills up with Kootenai River water Friday, July 17, 2026, for use on the Tub Gulch Fire north of Libby. Fire officials said the one-tenth acre fire was under control as of Saturday. (Scott Shindledecker/The Western News)