Elder 1 Fire

Missoula County, Montana · Wildfire

No longer active Official numbers updated Aug 8, 2026 (about 1 month ago)

First reported about 7 weeks ago

Metric	Last report	Now	Change
Size	1,234 acres Aug 5, 6:00 PM	1,235 acres Sep 8, 4:00 AM +1 acres was 1,234 acres · Aug 5, 6:00 PM	+1 acres in about 1 month
Containment	93% Aug 5, 6:00 PM	100% Sep 8, 4:00 AM +7 percent was 93% · Aug 5, 6:00 PM	+7 percent in about 1 month
Crew size	213 Aug 5, 6:00 PM	129 Sep 8, 4:00 AM −84 was 213 · Aug 5, 6:00 PM	−84 in about 1 month
Money spent	$7.3M Aug 5, 6:00 PM	$7.8M Sep 8, 4:00 AM +$555,000 was $7.3M · Aug 5, 6:00 PM	+$555,000 in about 1 month

Elder 1 Fire summary

The Elder 1 Fire is a wildfire near Missoula County, Montana. It has burned about 1,235 acres (about 936 football fields). Crews have it fully contained, with a line all the way around it. It was first reported about 7 weeks ago. About 129 people are on it, run by a Complex Incident Management Team.

Size: 1,235 acres
Containment: 100%
Discovered: July 24, 2026 (first reported about 7 weeks ago)
Cause: Not reported

The size and containment above are current as of Saturday, August 22nd at 12:00 p.m. CDT.

Weather & fire-spread conditions

⚠️ Red Flag Warning in effect. The National Weather Service has flagged conditions here — usually wind plus dry air — that can make fires spread fast. This is the official warning that fire danger is high right now.

Hot, dry, and windy weather can help a fire grow; cool, calm, or wet weather helps crews. The tags below rate each day for fire spread — green is calm, red can push a fire.

A general fire-weather guide (wind matters most, then how dry it is, then heat), not a prediction of what this fire will do.

Today

84°F · Slight Chance Light Rain then Showers And Thunderstorms Likely

Wind 5 mph SE · 63% chance of rain

Wind: Calm Heat: Warm Rain likely

Tonight

59°F · Chance Showers And Thunderstorms then Slight Chance Showers And Thunderstorms

Wind 5 mph S · 38% chance of rain

Wind: Calm Heat: Cool Some rain

Sunday

74°F · Sunny

Wind 3 to 13 mph W · 10% chance of rain

Wind: Breezy Heat: Cool Dry

Sunday Night

52°F · Clear

Wind 3 to 12 mph W · 0% chance of rain

Wind: Breezy Heat: Cool Dry

Monday

78°F · Sunny

Wind 2 mph WNW · 0% chance of rain

Wind: Calm Heat: Warm Dry

Forecast from the National Weather Service (weather.gov), pulled Saturday, August 22nd at 12:04 p.m. CDT.

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Who's on it

About 129 people are assigned to this fire, run by a Complex Incident Management Team. The government rates it a Type 3 Incident. About $8 million has been spent on it so far.

The official feed reports the total headcount, not a breakdown by crew type.

Where to get live updates

We show the daily official picture. For minute-by-minute updates, evacuation orders, and maps, these do it best:

→ Watch Duty: real-time fire reporting and evacuations.
→ InciWeb: the government's official fire information site.

Nearby fires to Elder 1 Fire

No other active fires are near this one right now. It's on its own.

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