Missoula fires today: fire map, smoke & air quality
Active wildfires within 100 miles of Missoula, the air quality and wind right now, fire-weather alerts — and how often fires burn near Missoula.
Air quality and wind in Missoula
Fire weather alerts for Missoula
Wildfire history near Missoula
Wildfires within 50 miles, by year
Fires of 10+ acres whose origin was within 50 miles of Missoula. 2026 is still in progress.
When fires start near Missoula
Peak months: July, August, September — 80% of fires in the last 10 years started in these three months.
4 days in the last 12 months had modeled daily PM2.5 above 35.4 µg/m³ — the level where air becomes unhealthy for sensitive groups. The worst day was July 27, 2026 at 39.9 µg/m³. Smoke can come from fires hundreds of miles away, so smoke days and nearby fires don't always line up.
Fire history: NIFC WFIGS incident records 2016–2026. Smoke: Open-Meteo CAMS air-quality model, 2025-10-01 to 2026-09-30. Updated 2026-10-01.
Major fires near Missoula this year
Largest wildfires near Missoula since 2015
| Fire | Acres | Year | County | From Missoula |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rice Ridge | 160,187 | 2017 | Missoula, MT | 36 mi |
| Lolo Peak | 53,902 | 2017 | Missoula, MT | 19 mi |
| Little Hogback | 34,532 | 2017 | Granite, MT | 33 mi |
| Liberty | 28,694 | 2017 | Missoula, MT | 21 mi |
| Sunrise | 26,310 | 2017 | Mineral, MT | 43 mi |
| Storm Creek | 15,125 | 2021 | Idaho, ID | 38 mi |
Most recent fires near Missoula
| Fire | Acres | Discovered | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Swamp | 45 | 2026-08-28 | 45 mi |
| Tiffany | 10 | 2026-08-03 | 42 mi |
| Black Bear | 2,126 | 2026-08-02 | 49 mi |
| Butterfly | 67 | 2026-08-01 | 43 mi |
| Elder 1 | 1,235 | 2026-07-24 | 16 mi |
Distances are straight-line from the city center to the fire's point of origin.
Fires and smoke near other cities
Questions
Is there a fire near Missoula right now?
The live map at the top of this page shows every active wildfire within 100 miles of Missoula from official incident reports, sorted by distance, with acres, containment and the last update time.
How often do wildfires burn near Missoula?
From 2016 to 2025, 175 wildfires of 10 acres or more started within 50 miles of Missoula — about 18 a year — burning 483,772 acres in total. 80% of them started in July, August and September.
What was the biggest fire near Missoula?
The Rice Ridge Fire (2017), 160,187 acres, which started about 36 miles from Missoula in Missoula County.
Is the air quality in Missoula safe today?
The air-quality panel above shows the current US AQI for Missoula and a 72-hour forecast. Above 100 (orange), sensitive groups should limit time outdoors; above 150 (red), everyone should. In the last 12 months Missoula had 4 modeled smoke days.
Get fire alerts for Missoula
Save Missoula in Wildfire Tracker: distance to the nearest active fire, which side of it you're on relative to the wind, air quality — alerts only for fires that are actually active.