Real-time coverage of wildfires event — Wildfire Harris, Rosebud, Montana — Pandita Data.
🔥 OPEN LIVE 3D WILDFIRE GLOBEActive wildfires near Harris and Rosebud, Montana ignited on August 9, 2026, at coordinates 45.195°N, 106.634°W in Musselshell County. These concurrent fires are spreading rapidly across grassland and mixed-conifer terrain during peak summer heat, threatening rural communities and regional air quality across south-central Montana.
Residents within a 15-mile radius face immediate evacuation orders due to advancing fire perimeters, heavy smoke inhalation hazards, and unpredictable wind-driven spread. Visibility has dropped below 0.5 miles in nearby towns, triggering air quality alerts for a 30-mile downwind zone affecting over 8,000 people.
These fires exploit the classic Montana summer fire environment: sustained temperatures above 85°F, relative humidity below 25%, and persistent drought stress from below-normal spring precipitation. Grassland fuels in this region cure rapidly in August heat, reaching 4–6% moisture content—ideal for rapid flame spread and spotting behavior.
Wind channeling through the Musselshell River valley drives fire movement northeast at 1–2 mph during active burning. Ridge-top updrafts create pyrocumulus clouds that can trigger new ignitions miles ahead of the main fire through airborne embers and radiant heat.
Real-time NOAA GOES-16 thermal infrared detects active fire pixels at 375-meter resolution, updated every 15 minutes. USGS Landsat 8 provides high-resolution burn scar mapping showing fire extent progression and smoke plume dispersion modeled by NOAA HYSPLIT.
Montana averages 1,200 wildfires annually, burning 600,000+ acres. The 2026 season has already surpassed 1.1 million acres statewide by early August—40 years above normal for this date.
Monitor real-time fire progression and satellite thermal data through Pandita Data's wildfire simulation module, which integrates live NOAA and USGS feeds to visualize fire spread, smoke transport, and evacuation zones in 3D.