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
- Ongoing
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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
What to do now
Water damage restoration
Putting out a fire — hose lines, sprinklers, suppression — often floods the property and leaves water damage behind too.
What to do now
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.
- Fire weather NWS BYZ
Fire Weather / Red Flag
Low humidity, hot temperatures, and strong gusty winds will create erratic fire behavior across multiple zones in Montana and Wyoming through this evening.
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000 WWUS85 KBYZ 082047 RFWBYZ
URGENT - FIRE WEATHER MESSAGE National Weather Service Billings MT 247 PM MDT Sat Aug 8 2026
MTZ123>133-WYZ274-284-090300- /O.CON.KBYZ.FW.W.0009.000000T0000Z-260809T0300Z/ Gallatin National Forest-Wheatland County/Sweet Grass County- Stillwater County-Beartooth Ranger District Custer National Forest- Golden Valley County/Musselshell county-Yellowstone County- Crow Indian Reservation/Bighorn Canyon Rec Area- Northern Rosebud/Northern Treasure Counties- Northern Cheyenne Indian Reservation/Ashland Ranger District Custer Natl Forest-Custer County- Sioux Ranger District Custer National Forest-Sheridan County- Bighorn National Forest- 247 PM MDT Sat Aug 8 2026
...RED FLAG WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 9 PM MDT THIS EVENING...
* IMPACTS: Low humidities, hot temperatures, and strong gusty winds will create erratic fire behavior.
* AFFECTED AREA: In North Central WY Fire Zones...274...284. In South Central MT Fire Zones...123...124...125...126...127 128...129. In Southeast MT Fire Zones...130...131...132. In Southeast MT and Northwest SD Fire Zone...133.
* COUNTIES AFFECTED: In Central MT...Golden Valley...Musselshell...Wheatland. In North Central WY..…
Updates are captured automatically from official and news sources, and may lag the live source. For the very latest, see NASA EONET ↗.