No longer in the daily fire updates. The Middle Coulee Fire last appeared in an official report on August 3, at 1,200 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 →

Middle Coulee Fire

Chouteau County, Montana · Wildfire

No longer active Official numbers updated Aug 3, 2026 (14 days ago)
First reported about 2 weeks ago
Metric Now
Size
1,200 acres
Aug 17, 12:01 PM
+700 acres
was 500 acres · Aug 3, 9:00 AM
Containment
100%
Aug 17, 12:01 PM
+100 percent
was 0% · Aug 3, 5:00 PM
Crew size
7
Aug 17, 12:01 PM
Money spent
$10,000
Aug 17, 12:01 PM

Middle Coulee Fire and other nearby fires

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

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Middle Coulee Fire summary

The Middle Coulee Fire is a wildfire near Chouteau County, Montana. It has burned about 1,200 acres (about 909 football fields). Crews have it fully contained, with a line all the way around it. It was first reported about 2 weeks ago. About 7 people are on it, run by a Type 5 IC.

Size
1,200 acres
Containment
100%
Discovered
August 2, 2026 (first reported about 2 weeks ago)
Cause
Not reported

The size and containment above are current as of Monday, August 3rd at 6:00 p.m. CDT.

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.

This Afternoon

68°F · Areas Of Smoke

Wind 13 mph NNW · 2% chance of rain

Wind: Breezy Heat: Cool Dry

Tonight

43°F · Areas Of Smoke

Wind 3 to 10 mph N · 1% chance of rain

Wind: Breezy Heat: Cool Dry

Tuesday

79°F · Areas Of Smoke

Wind 1 to 5 mph SW · 0% chance of rain

Wind: Calm Heat: Warm Dry

Tuesday Night

48°F · Patchy Smoke

Wind 7 mph SSE · 0% chance of rain

Wind: Calm Heat: Cool Dry

Wednesday

89°F · Patchy Smoke then Sunny

Wind 7 mph WSW · 0% chance of rain

Wind: Calm Heat: Warm Dry

Forecast from the National Weather Service (weather.gov), pulled Monday, August 3rd at 6:05 p.m. CDT.

Who's on it

About 7 people are assigned to this fire, run by a Type 5 IC. The government rates it a Type 5 Incident. About $10,000 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 Middle Coulee Fire

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

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Most crews hire in fall and winter for the next summer, when more jobs open up.

Montana has 2 of these jobs open right now.

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