Deer Creek Fire

Lincoln County, Montana · Wildfire

Active Official numbers updated Sep 22, 2026 (13 days ago)

First reported about 7 weeks ago

Metric	Last report	Now	Change
Size	989 acres Aug 28, 5:00 PM	1,099 acres Oct 5, 8:00 AM +110 acres was 989 acres · Aug 28, 5:00 PM	+110 acres in about 1 month
Containment	85% Sep 1, 5:00 PM	96% Oct 5, 8:00 AM +11 percent was 85% · Sep 1, 5:00 PM	+11 percent in about 1 month
Crew size	77 Sep 2, 2:00 PM	53 Oct 5, 8:00 AM −24 was 77 · Sep 2, 2:00 PM	−24 in about 1 month
Money spent	$3.9M Sep 1, 5:00 PM	$4.2M Oct 5, 8:00 AM +$300,000 was $3.9M · Sep 1, 5:00 PM	+$300,000 in about 1 month

Deer Creek Fire summary

The Deer Creek Fire is a wildfire near Lincoln County, Montana. It has burned about 1,099 acres (about 833 football fields). Crews have boxed in 96% of its edge; the other 4% isn't contained yet. It was first reported about 7 weeks ago. About 53 people are on it, run by a Type 4 IC. We're also tracking 1 other active fire within about 75 miles.

Size: 1,099 acres
Containment: 96%
Discovered: August 20, 2026 (first reported about 7 weeks ago)
Cause: Not reported

The size and containment above are current as of Monday, October 5th at 8:00 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 a specific fire will do.

	Day	Night
Today	71°F · Sunny Wind 1 to 8 mph SE · 1% rain Wind: Calm Heat: Cool Dry	36°F · Partly Cloudy Wind 3 mph SSE · 0% rain Wind: Calm Heat: Cool Dry
Tuesday	71°F · Partly Sunny Wind 1 to 6 mph SSE · 0% rain Wind: Calm Heat: Cool Dry	36°F · Partly Cloudy Wind 0 to 3 mph S · 0% rain Wind: Calm Heat: Cool Dry
Wednesday	70°F · Mostly Sunny Wind 3 mph SE · 0% rain Wind: Calm Heat: Cool Dry	—

Forecast from the National Weather Service (weather.gov), pulled Monday, October 5th at 8:01 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.

0° slope

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

Not wildfire fuel (NB8)

Open water. Not a wildland fuel.

0% 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.

2,893 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 3:53 p.m. CDT.

Who's on it

About 53 people are assigned to this fire, run by a Type 4 IC. The government rates it a Type 4 Incident. About $4 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:

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

Nearby fires to Deer Creek Fire

Within about 75 miles we're tracking 1 other active fire, closest first:

Marmot Peak Fire · 52 mi away 59 acres

See all active fires in Montana →

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