No longer in the daily fire updates. The Elder 1 Fire last appeared in an official report on August 8, 2026, at 1,235 acres and 100% contained. Fires drop off this list once crews have them contained or out; we keep the page for reference. See fires burning now →

Elder 1 Fire

Missoula County, Montana · Wildfire

Started inside the Lolo National Forest boundary.

No longer active Official numbers updated Aug 8, 2026 (3 months ago)
First reported about 3 months ago
Metric Now
Size
1,235 acres
Oct 23, 7:00 AM
+1 acres
was 1,234 acres · Aug 5, 6:00 PM
Containment
100%
Oct 23, 7:00 AM
+7 percent
was 93% · Aug 5, 6:00 PM
Crew size
129
Oct 23, 7:00 AM
−84
was 213 · Aug 5, 6:00 PM
Money spent
$7.8M
Oct 23, 7:00 AM
+$555,000
was $7.3M · Aug 5, 6:00 PM

Elder 1 Fire and other nearby fires

🔥 Where this fire started Mostly contained Partly contained Containment not reported

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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 3 months 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 3 months ago)
Cause
Not reported

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

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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 a specific fire will do.

Day Night
Today
84°F · Slight Chance Light Rain then Showers And Thunderstorms Likely
Wind 5 mph SE · 63% rain
Wind: Calm Heat: Warm Rain likely
59°F · Chance Showers And Thunderstorms then Slight Chance Showers And Thunderstorms
Wind 5 mph S · 38% rain
Wind: Calm Heat: Cool Some rain
Sunday
74°F · Sunny
Wind 3 to 13 mph W · 10% rain
Wind: Breezy Heat: Cool Dry
52°F · Clear
Wind 3 to 12 mph W · 0% rain
Wind: Breezy Heat: Cool Dry
Monday
78°F · Sunny
Wind 2 mph WNW · 0% rain
Wind: Calm Heat: Warm Dry
—

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

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:

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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