Little Snowies Pile Burn Declared Wildfire 2026

The Judith-Musselshell Ranger District of the Helena-Lewis and Clark National Forest initiated hand pile burning operations for the Little Snowies Piles Prescribed Fire (Low Complexity) on December 3, 2025, and continued operations on December 4. This prescribed burn comprised five separate hand pile units within the same area, all covered by the District's Programmatic Pile Burning Prescribed Fire Plan. Ignition conditions were favorable, with snow on the ground and additional snow in the forecast, fully meeting the prescriptions outlined in the burn plan. Weather conditions shifted in mid-December, presenting warmer, drier, and windier conditions that resulted in significant snowmelt and fuel drying. On December 22, a hot edge of a pile spread outside the pile boundary and was extinguished, and on December 30, a persistent heat source within one of the piles was mopped up. On the afternoon of January 11, a neighboring landowner reported a fire in the area. Bureau of Land Management (Protection Unit) resources, local Volunteer Fire Departments (VFDs), and the neighboring landowner responded to suppress the incident, which was subsequently named the South Fork Fire. The fire was contained at approximately 5.1 acres, with 3.93 acres determined to be within the prescribed burn unit and 1.16 acres having spread onto private property.