Wildfire, Cascade
- When
- September 3, 1:00 PM MST to September 9, 3:00 PM MST
- Where
- Cascade County, Monarch
- Reported by
- PARK/FOREST SERVICE
- Coordinates
- 47.308, -111.347 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Wildfire in Montana, September 3 to 9, 2001
2 wildfire, as filed by the National Weather Service.
Where it happened
Every event with a place to put it; 2 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.
- Tornadoes
- Tropical storms and surge
- Floods
- Wind
- Hail
- Winter weather
- Heat and drought
- Cold
- Fire, smoke and dust
- Marine and coastal
- Other
The toll
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- Property damage
- None recorded
- Crop damage
- None recorded
- Events
- 2
Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.
What forecasters said that day
The local office's own words before the first event, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.
NWS Great Falls, MT wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Sep 3, 8:25 AM MST, 4 hours 35 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Sep 3, 8:25 AM MST, 4 hours 35 minutes before
SOUTHWEST AND NORTH CENTRAL MONTANA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREAT FALLS MT 925 AM MDT MON SEP 3 2001 TWO MAIN ISSUES THIS MORNING ARE WINDS AND TEMPERATURES. WIND GUSTS ALREADY INCREASED TO 35 MPH AT BROWNING...PROMPTING A QUICK UPDATE TO TAKE OUT AFTERNOON WORDING FOR WINDS ALONG THE ROCKY MOUNTAIN FRONT. SINCE THEN...WINDS DECREASED TEMPORARILY TO UNDER 15 MPH... BUT A GUST REACHED 45 MPH AT 900 AM. NEW ETA SHOWS STRONGEST 700 MB WINDS OF 40 KT THERE AT 18Z...WITH ONLY A SLIGHT DROP OFF TO 35 KT FOR THE AFTERNOON. WINDS HAVE NOT DEVELOPED YET AT CUT BANK... THOUGH...WITH SOUTHWEST WINDS OF 10 TO 15 MPH AT GREAT FALLS. SURFACE LEE TROUGH DEEPENING THIS MORNING...AND EXPECT WINDS TO CONTINUE INCREASING DURING THE AFTERNOON. THEREFORE...WILL ISSUE HIGH WIND WARNING FOR NORTHERN ROCKY MOUNTAIN FRONT INTO THIS EVENING...AND DELAY A WARNING UNTIL THIS AFTERNOON FOR EASTERN GLACIER...EASTERN PONDERA...AND TOOLE COUNTIES. WILL ALSO INCREASE WINDS FOR GREAT FALLS AND HAVRE ZONE GROUPINGS. TEMPERATURES TODAY GENERALLY SEEM IN LINE...BUT CUT BANK IS WARMING A BIT FASTER THAN EXPECTED... THEREFORE WILL RAISE HIGH TEMPERATURE A FEW DEGREES THERE. WILL ALSO CHANGE PARTLY CLOUDY WORDING TO MOSTLY SUNNY FOR HAVRE ZONES... AS DRIER AIR SHOWN ON WATER VAPOR TO BE MOVING NORTHEAST INTO NORTHWEST MONTANA THIS MORNING. OTHERWISE...FORECAST IN GOOD SHAPE. COULSTON EXTENDED...LATEST MRF SLIGHTLY FASTER THAN ECMWF...THOUGH OVERALL PATTERN IS SIMILAR. ENERGY WITH PACIFIC LOW PRESSURE TROUGH SPLITS WEDNESDAY AS NORTHERN PORTION MOVES INTO CANADA AND SOUTHERN PORTION FORMS A CUTOFF LOW OFF CA COAST. CURRENT SOLUTIONS SHOW NORTHERN BRANCH TRACKING SLIGHTLY FURTHER SOUTH THAN PREVIOUS RUNS ADVERTISED WITH MORE ENERGY DRAGGING ACROSS CWA. THIS PUSHES CHANCES OF PRECIP UP SLIGHTLY WEDNESDAY AND THURSDAY...THOUGH POPS STILL LOW. BY FRIDAY...ENERGY IS EAST OF CWA WITH JET STARTING TO CARVE A DEEP TROUGH OVER CONUS. THIS AGAIN AMPLIFIES THE RIDGE OVER THE WESTERN STATES WITH THE AXIS TO THE WEST OF MT. THIS PUTS THE CWA UNDER A DRY NORTHWEST FLOW ALOFT FOR COOLER TEMPERATURES BUT LITTLE CHANCE OF PRECIPITATION. CCF NUMBERS GTF NB 092 050 090 053 082 03001 CTB NB 089 049 084 050 076 03000 HLN UB 094 052 092 055 085 03001 BZN BB 091 046 090 048 085 03001 WEY BB 085 038 085 040 077 03001 DLN BB 087 047 086 049 080 03001 HVR NB 092 052 088 051 080 03000 LWT BB 091 050 090 052 084 03001
The radar
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
Event by event
2 wildfire. Local standard time, as filed.
Wildfire, Judith Basin
- When
- September 3, 1:00 PM MST to September 9, 3:00 PM MST
- Where
- Judith Basin County, Windham
- Reported by
- PARK/FOREST SERVICE
- Coordinates
- 47.046, -110.266 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Lost Fork/Monarch Fire Complex - Lewis and Clark National ForestDate Started: 9/3/2001Date Contained: 9/9/2001Size: 4515 acresCost: $1,700,000Cause of Ignition: Lost Fork Fire - Unknown Monarch Fire - Human Ignition (Children playing with cigarette lighter)Discussion: Two children playing with a cigarette lighter ignited the fire just outside of Monarch, MT (in southeastern Cascade county), while the cause of the Lost Fork fire (25 miles southwest of Windham in Judith Basin County) is unknown. The fires were fought as one complex in the Little Belt Mountains of central Montana (within the Lewis and Clark National Forest). The fires were contained in such a way as to keep them from destroying any of the homes in the area. No casualties were reported.
What these are
- Wildfire
- A fire burning in wildland vegetation, with its acreage and damage where known.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
The same day elsewhere
- Heavy Rain in Alabama, September 3, 2001
- Hail and Damaging Wind in Oklahoma, September 3, 2001
- Damaging Wind in California, September 3, 2001
- Damaging Wind in Texas, September 3, 2001
- Damaging Winds in Michigan, September 3, 2001
- Hail in Texas, September 3, 2001
- Flash Flooding in Texas, September 3 to 4, 2001
- Flash Flooding and Lightning Strike in Texas, September 3 to 4, 2001
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Wisconsin, September 3, 2001
- Heavy Rain in California, September 3, 2001
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Illinois, September 3, 2001
- Flash Flood and Damaging Wind in Texas, September 3, 2001
More
Every storm in Montana in 2001Every state in 2001This day in weather historyWarnings in Montana, September 2001
Sources
NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5275168, 5275209.