Big Buffalo Fire

McCone County, Montana · Wildfire

No longer active Official numbers updated Aug 7, 2026 (about 1 month ago)

First reported about 6 weeks ago

Metric	Last report	Now	Change
Size	3,598 acres Aug 7, 3:00 PM	3,598 acres Sep 16, 5:00 AM	—
Containment	—	0% Sep 16, 5:00 AM	—
Crew size	—	18 Sep 16, 5:00 AM	—
Money spent	—	$100,000 Sep 16, 5:00 AM	—

Big Buffalo Fire summary

The Big Buffalo Fire is a wildfire near McCone County, Montana. It has burned about 3,598 acres (about 3,000 football fields). Crews have boxed in 0% of its edge; the other 100% isn't contained yet. It was first reported about 6 weeks ago. About 18 people are on it, run by a Type 4 IC.

Size: 3,598 acres
Containment: 0%
Discovered: August 6, 2026 (first reported about 6 weeks ago)
Cause: Not reported

The size and containment above are current as of Friday, August 7th at 3:00 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 this fire will do.

This Afternoon

81°F · Areas Of Smoke

Wind 3 mph NNE · 0% chance of rain

Wind: Calm Heat: Warm Dry

Tonight

58°F · Haze then Mostly Clear

Wind 2 to 7 mph E · 0% chance of rain

Wind: Calm Heat: Cool Dry

Saturday

90°F · Sunny then Haze

Wind 3 to 14 mph NE · 1% chance of rain

Wind: Breezy Heat: Hot Dry

Saturday Night

58°F · Partly Cloudy

Wind 8 to 15 mph ENE · 0% chance of rain

Wind: Breezy Heat: Cool Dry

Sunday

86°F · Mostly Sunny

Wind 9 to 13 mph ESE · 3% chance of rain

Wind: Breezy Heat: Warm Dry

Forecast from the National Weather Service (weather.gov), pulled Friday, August 7th at 3:05 p.m. CDT.

Who's on it

About 18 people are assigned to this fire, run by a Type 4 IC. The government rates it a Type 4 Incident. About $100,000 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:

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

Nearby fires to Big Buffalo Fire

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

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