UPDATE: 8-18-2025, 10:47 a.m. - The Bivens Creek Fire is now at 2,059.5 acres; the Cloudrest Fire is at 1,182.8 acres and a new fire, The McAllister Fire has increased to 3,500 acres.
UPDATE: 8-16-2025, 6:05 p.m. - At the time of this update, the Bivens Creek Fire is at 1,321.8 acres; the Cloudrest Fire is at 1,004.4 acres and a new fire, The McAllister Fire is at 800 acres.
EARLY UPDATE:
Source - Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest
BIVENS CREEK
The Bivens Creek Fire continues to spread and experienced active fire behavior yesterday with crowning, due to the gusty winds. The fire was last mapped at 500 acres, with fire growth and visible smoke; that size is likely larger. The fire continues to burn in thick subalpine fir timber with a heavy dead and downed fuel component in the Tobacco Roots Mountains on the Madison Ranger District. Smoke is visible throughout the Madison Valley.
Today, firefighters will prepare roads on the western flank and scout for opportunities. An engine and crew are also on the eastern flank of the fire, scouting for opportunities. Helicopters are available to assist with water bucket drops. Additional resources are en route. A Complex Incident Management Team (CIMT) has been ordered to assist. Team members from Northern Rockies Incident Management Team 6 [facebook.com] take command of the fire tomorrow evening.
CLOUDREST
The Cloudrest Fire also had fire growth yesterday due to conditions, and was last mapped at 500 acres and expected to be larger. To the west, fire moved northwest of Rossiter Lake with some spotting in Willow Creek. To the east, the fire spread continued in the meadow towards the rock scree. An engine and crew are searching for opportunities and responding to spotting with the help of helicopter water bucket drops as needed.
The fire weather forecast includes a slight chance of showers and thunderstorms in the afternoon with temperatures in the low 80s. Afternoon westerly winds could range 7 to 16 mph. Chance of precipitation is 20%.
An infrared flight has been ordered for both fires for a more accurate perimeter size.
A special closure order for the fire area is forthcoming; please stay out of the area and allow firefighters to operate safely. In addition, there is a Temporary Flight Restriction (TFR) in effect to ensure safe firefighting aircraft operations.
Previous
MADISON COUNTY — Three wildfires in Madison County have spread to more than 1,000 acres since Friday afternoon, according to the National Interagency Fire Center (NIFC).
The Cloudrest Fire, near Cloudrest Peak, burning west of Twin Bridges, is at 1,104.4 acres and is zero percent contained. The fire is burning at an elevation of 8,100 feet, burning in thick subalpine fir timber, with heavy dead and downed fuels.
The Bivens Creek is now burning at 1,321.8 acres according to the NIFC. The fire is approximately 10 miles east of Sheridan and is zero percent contained.
The Horn Fire burning in the far southern end of Madison County is now at 2,990 acres, according to the NIFC. The fire is 25 percent contained. Residents on the west side of MT Hwy 87, on Madison River Ranch, and all residents east of MT Hwy 87 and south of US Hwy 287 are under an evacuation warning.
Isolated thunderstorms are back in the forecast for SW Montana Saturday afternoon through early evening.
Widespread thunderstorms are likely Sunday afternoon for SW Montana, with some storms lingering into the early evening hours.
The main concern with this type of pattern is lightning and possible new wildfire starts.
A Pacific storm is moving into the Pacific NW but should lift over Montana. This will create a stronger south to SW flow aloft and help pull monsoonal moisture up into southern and SW Montana this weekend.
Temperatures will be a little cooler with the increased cloud cover and scattered thunderstorms this weekend, but look for a return of low to mid-90s by early next week.
