This event is no longer active — it's kept here as a record. Recovery may still be underway; the guidance below applies.
The Heavy Timber fire burned 176 acres near Musselshell, Montana, beginning July 12, 2026, and is fully contained. Homes in the area faced direct fire exposure during the active burn.
Overview written from official NASA EONET and National Interagency Fire Center/IRWIN data.
- Type
- Wildfires
- Official size
- 176 acres
- Containment
- 100%
- Cause
- Undetermined
- Began
- Status
- Inactive
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Affected area map
The shaded area is the affected-area perimeter reported for this event by NASA EONET (Musselshell, Montana), colored by hazard type. Pan and zoom to explore the map; when more than one observation exists, use the slider below to step through how the reported area changed.
Interactive affected-area map
Musselshell, Montana · Enable JavaScript to explore the map.
Official size & containment
Official incident size and containment reported through NIFC / IRWIN, as we observed it. Newest first.
- 176 acres ±0 100% contained
- 176 acres ±0 14% contained
- 176 acres ±0 14% contained
- 176 acres −324
- 500 acres
Shown as reported by our sources — not an official product. For current advisories and the authoritative map, see NASA EONET ↗.
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Fire damage restoration
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Latest updates
Official updates and news coverage for this event, newest first — National Weather Service products, local storm reports, incident updates and press headlines. Official items are verbatim government text; news headlines link out to the original outlet.
- Forecast discussion NWS BYZ
Area Forecast Discussion
Significant wildfire smoke continues through Wednesday; widespread showers and thunderstorms with locally heavy downpours expected Thursday through Friday.
Show full text Hide full text
000 FXUS65 KBYZ 120116 AFDBYZ
Area Forecast Discussion...Updated National Weather Service Billings MT 716 PM MDT Tue Aug 11 2026
.KEY MESSAGES...
- Significant wildfire smoke persists through Wednesday. Much improved conditions expected Thursday into the weekend.
- More widespread shower and thunderstorm chances for Wednesday. Low chances for severe storms southeast Montana.
- Much cooler with widespread showers and thunderstorms (40-100% chance) Thursday through Friday, possibly into Saturday. Locally heavy downpours are likely with any storms. Severe threat is very low.
- Warmer with a daily chance (20-50%) of thunderstorms this Sunday into Monday.
&&
.DISCUSSION...
Rest of Today through Monday...
Upper level pattern is pretty benign for today with zonal westerly flow aloft and only weak energy crossing the area. Underneath that though there is persistent southeasterly flow working into SE Montana that will boost afternoon CAPE values to around 2000j/kg and producing enough shear to support a chance for a few strong to severe thunderstorms. Previous model runs kept convective initiation just to the east of the forecast area, but the 12z runs are further east developing…
- Incident update InciWeb
Timber Fire
The Timber Fire was detected around 9:30 p.m. Saturday, August 8. After exhibiting moderate overnight growth, it was estimated to be about 45 acres by 7:30 a.m. Sunday, August 9. As of 7 a.m. on Monday, August 10, the fire was 1,330 acres, 5 percent contained, and continues to spread. None of California's eight federal complex incident management teams is immediately available as they are either assigned to other incidents or on mandatory days off. California has strong interagency relationships and coordination; CAL FIRE Incident Management Team 1 is mobilizing and will receive its in-brief Monday afternoon and be delegated command of the fire soon thereafter.Numerous firefighting resources, including aircraft, engines, and crews, are assigned to the fire, with additional resources enroute and being ordered.Evacuation warnings and orders are in effect. For current information and to sign up for alerts, view the interactive evacuation map and Monterey County's Department of Emergency Management website. Road closures are in effect - for up-to-date information visit California Highway Patrol - Monterey.
Updates are captured automatically from official and news sources, and may lag the live source. For the very latest, see NASA EONET ↗.