Wildfire in Montana, July 14 to 20, 2003

Name: Wildfire in Montana, July 14 to 20, 2003
Start: 2003-07-14T15:00
End: 2003-07-20T23:00
Location: Montana

July 14 to 20, 2003 · NWS GGW · 4 events in 4 counties and zones

Lightning ignited a series of wildfires starting on July 14. The Mickey Butte fire in Southwest Valley and Southeast Phillips Counties reached 3500 acres before it was contained on July 20.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 4 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.

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Floods
Wind
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Winter weather
Heat and drought
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Fire, smoke and dust
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The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: None recorded
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 4

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 happened

The episode as NWS GGW wrote it up.

Lightning ignited a series of wildfires starting on July 14. The Mickey Butte fire in Southwest Valley and Southeast Phillips Counties reached 3500 acres before it was contained on July 20. The wildfires in Northwest Garfield County eventually became the Missouri Breaks Complex which is covered in more detail in a separate event. The remaining wildfires were 100 acres or less.

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 Glasgow, MT wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Jul 14, 1:30 PM MST, 1 hour 30 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jul 14, 1:30 PM MST, 1 hour 30 minutes before

NORTHEAST MONTANA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GLASGOW MT
230 PM MDT MON JUL 14 2003

.SHORT TERM...TONIGHT THROUGH WEDNESDAY
ISOLATED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS HAVE DEVELOPED OVER THE NORTHERN
AND EASTERN PORTION OF THE CWFA AND WILL CONTINUE MOVING RAPIDLY
SOUTHEASTWARD UNTIL NEAR SUNSET AND THE RESULTANT LOSS OF DAYTIME
HEATING. LAKE WIND ADVISORY FOR FORT PECK LAKE IS IN EFFECT UNTIL
8PM THIS EVENING AS WINDS OVER MORE EXPOSED LOCATIONS HAVE REMAINED
NEAR OR SOMEWHAT ABOVE 25 MPH. WIND WILL DIMINISH RAPIDLY TONIGHT
WITH DECOUPLING TO BEGIN SHORTLY AFTER SUNSET. WARM AIRMASS
ASSOCIATED WITH BUILDING HIGH PRESSURE ALOFT WILL ALLOW FOR RAPID
WARMING TOMORROW. WEAK SHORTWAVE MOVING SOUTHEASTWARD ACROSS EXTREME
NORTHEASTERN MONTANA WILL PROVIDE ENOUGH INSTABILITY FOR SLIGHT
CHANCE THUNDERSTORMS LATE WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON INTO WEDNESDAY
EVENING. LYNN

.LONG TERM...WED NIGHT THRU MONDAY
UPPER RIDGE REMAINS OVER THE WESTERN U.S. THE REST OF THE WEEK AND
THROUGH THE WEEKEND.  AN UPPER TROUGH GOING ACROSS ALBERTA AND
SASKATCHEWAN ON THURSDAY WILL BRIEFLY FLATTEN THE RIDGE AND A
FRONTAL BOUNDARY MOVES ACROSS EASTERN MONTANA ON THURSDAY. WILL
MENTION A CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS WITH THIS FRONT AS UNSTABLE AIR
WILL ACCOMPANY THE SYSTEM.  OTHERWISE...IT WILL BE HOT AND DRY.
FORRESTER

KGGW UBT 052/090 058/091 054/088 77200233
     UBBB 055/088 057/091 057/092 057/087 7900000000
KGDV UET 054/090 058/091 056/090 77000233
     UBBB 056/089 057/090 057/091 056/085 7900000000

.GGW...LAKE WIND ADVISORY FOR FORT PECK LAKE THIS EVENING.

Hazardous weather outlook, Jul 14, 11:24 AM MST, 3 hours 36 minutes before

MTZ016>027-059>062-151200-

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GLASGOW MT
1224 PM MDT MON JUL 14 2003

.DAY ONE...A LAKE WIND ADVISORY IS IN EFFECT FOR FORT PECK LAKE THIS
AFTERNOON AND EARLY THIS EVENING. REFER TO GTFNPWGGW OR WWUS75 KGGW
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...

NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

WEATHER SPOTTERS ARE ENCOURAGED TO REPORT SIGNIFICANT WEATHER
CONDITIONS ACCORDING TO STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURES.

The radar

The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

4 wildfire. Local standard time, as filed.

Wildfire, Garfield

When: July 14, 3:00 PM MST to July 20, 11:00 PM MST
Where: Garfield County, 25 mi N of Mosby
Reported by: OTHER FEDERAL AGENCY
Coordinates: 47.278, -106.993 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Wildfire, Petroleum

When: July 15, 8:00 AM MST to July 19, 8:00 PM MST
Where: Petroleum County, 15 mi N of Winnett
Reported by: OTHER FEDERAL AGENCY
Coordinates: 47.118, -108.250 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Wildfire, Valley

When: July 15, 8:00 AM MST to July 20, 8:00 PM MST
Where: Valley County, 45 mi SW of Glasgow
Reported by: OTHER FEDERAL AGENCY
Coordinates: 48.365, -106.667 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Wildfire, Phillips

When: July 15, 8:00 AM MST to July 20, 8:00 PM MST
Where: Phillips County, 50 mi SE of Malta
Reported by: OTHER FEDERAL AGENCY
Coordinates: 48.259, -107.913 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

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

Every storm in Montana in 2003 Every state in 2003 This day in weather history Warnings in Montana, July 2003

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: 5330462, 5330463, 5330464, 5330465.