Black Bear Fire

Ravalli County, Montana · Wildfire

Active Official numbers updated Sep 5, 2026 (10 days ago)
First reported about 6 weeks ago
Metric Now
Size
2,126 acres
Sep 16, 1:00 AM
−19 acres
was 2,145 acres · Aug 17, 11:00 AM
Containment
30%
Sep 16, 1:00 AM
+8 percent
was 22% · Sep 5, 6:00 PM
Crew size
23
Sep 16, 1:00 AM
−4
was 27 · Aug 20, 6:01 PM
Money spent
$1.4M
Sep 16, 1:00 AM
+$138,680
was $1.3M · Sep 5, 6:00 PM

Black Bear Fire and other nearby fires

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

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Black Bear Fire summary

The Black Bear Fire is a wildfire near Ravalli County, Montana. It has burned about 2,126 acres (about 2,000 football fields). Crews have boxed in 30% of its edge; the other 70% isn't contained yet. It was first reported about 6 weeks ago. About 23 people are on it, run by a Type 3 Team. We're also tracking 8 other active fires within about 75 miles.

Size
2,126 acres
Containment
30%
Discovered
August 2, 2026 (first reported about 6 weeks ago)
Cause
Not reported

The size and containment above are current as of Wednesday, September 16th at 1:00 a.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.

Overnight

36°F · Mostly Cloudy

Wind 2 mph NNE · 2% chance of rain

Wind: Calm Heat: Cool Dry

Wednesday

64°F · Sunny

Wind 2 mph NE · 1% chance of rain

Wind: Calm Heat: Cool Dry

Wednesday Night

41°F · Mostly Clear

Wind 5 mph ENE · 1% chance of rain

Wind: Calm Heat: Cool Dry

Thursday

68°F · Partly Sunny then Chance Showers And Thunderstorms

Wind 3 mph SSE · 48% chance of rain

Wind: Calm Heat: Cool Some rain

Thursday Night

45°F · Showers And Thunderstorms then Rain

Wind 2 mph SSW · 91% chance of rain

Wind: Calm Heat: Cool Rain likely

Forecast from the National Weather Service (weather.gov), pulled Wednesday, September 16th at 1:02 a.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.

12° 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.

7,836 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 23 people are assigned to this fire, run by a Type 3 Team. The government rates it a Type 3 Incident. About $1 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 Black Bear Fire

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

See all active fires in Montana →

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