Bobcat Lakes Fire

Beaverhead County, Montana · Wildfire

Active Official numbers updated Sep 14, 2026 (about 3 hours ago)
First reported about 7 weeks ago
Metric Now
Size
10,896 acres
Sep 14, 8:00 PM
+10 acres
was 10,886 acres · Sep 14, 6:00 PM
Containment
72%
Sep 14, 8:00 PM
+6 percent
was 66% · Sep 12, 6:00 PM
Crew size
2
Sep 14, 8:00 PM
−2
was 4 · Sep 9, 6:00 PM
Money spent
$15.8M
Sep 14, 8:00 PM
+$99,196
was $15.7M · Sep 14, 6:00 PM

Bobcat Lakes Fire and other nearby fires

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

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Bobcat Lakes Fire summary

The Bobcat Lakes Fire is a wildfire near Beaverhead County, Montana. It has burned about 10,896 acres (about 8,000 football fields). Crews have boxed in 72% of its edge; the other 28% isn't contained yet. It was first reported about 7 weeks ago. About 2 people are on it, run by a Type 3 IC. We're also tracking 8 other active fires within about 75 miles.

Size
10,896 acres
Containment
72%
Discovered
July 31, 2026 (first reported about 7 weeks ago)
Cause
Not reported

The size and containment above are current as of Monday, September 14th at 8:00 p.m. CDT.

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Weather & fire-spread conditions

No Red Flag Warning. The National Weather Service hasn't flagged this area for dangerous fire-spread conditions 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.

Tonight

30°F · Mostly Clear

Wind 3 to 9 mph WSW · 4% chance of rain

Wind: Calm Heat: Cool Dry

Tuesday

55°F · Mostly Sunny

Wind 8 mph SW · 1% chance of rain

Wind: Calm Heat: Cool Dry

Tuesday Night

35°F · Mostly Cloudy

Wind 8 mph NE · 2% chance of rain

Wind: Calm Heat: Cool Dry

Wednesday

59°F · Sunny

Wind 7 mph NNE · 1% chance of rain

Wind: Calm Heat: Cool Dry

Wednesday Night

42°F · Mostly Clear

Wind 6 to 9 mph E · 3% chance of rain

Wind: Calm Heat: Cool Dry

Forecast from the National Weather Service (weather.gov), pulled Monday, September 14th at 8:03 p.m. CDT.

Could this fire move fast?

Weather isn't the only thing that changes how a fire moves. The ground matters too: how steep it is, and what's growing on it. These four numbers are for the exact spot where this fire started, not the whole fire. A big fire crosses a lot of different ground.

9° slope

Fire usually moves faster uphill than downhill. Heat and flame lean uphill, drying out the ground above the fire before it gets there.

Trees with brush underneath (TU5)

Heavy forest litter with shrubs or small trees underneath, in a dry climate. Fire moves at a moderate pace, with medium-height flames.

55% tree canopy cover

The more tree cover above a fire, the easier it is for the fire to climb from the ground into the treetops. That's called a crown fire. Crown fires move faster, throw embers farther ahead of the fire, and are harder for crews to stop head-on.

8,853 ft elevation

Elevation by itself doesn't make a fire more or less dangerous. But it shapes the other three numbers here: what grows there, how dry things get, and what the weather does.

Elevation and slope from the USGS 3D Elevation Program; fuel type and canopy cover from LANDFIRE (USGS and U.S. Forest Service), pulled Thursday, September 10th at 3:48 p.m. CDT.

Who's on it

About 2 people are assigned to this fire, run by a Type 3 IC. The government rates it a Type 3 Incident. About $16 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 Bobcat Lakes Fire

Within about 75 miles we're tracking 8 other active fires, closest first:

See all active fires in Montana →

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