The Elbow Pass Complex is comprised of five different lightning ignitions from July 12 through July 31. These fires have merged into one fire, the Elbow Pass Complex: Triple Divide Fire, Rapid Creek Fire, Elbow Pass Fire, and Bar Creek Fire.
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.
The episode as NWS TFX wrote it up.
The Elbow Pass Complex is comprised of five different lightning ignitions from July 12 through July 31. These fires have merged into one fire, the Elbow Pass Complex: Triple Divide Fire, Rapid Creek Fire, Elbow Pass Fire, and Bar Creek Fire. The fires are generally located 25 miles west southwest of Augusta, Montana. The Falls Point fire is south of the Complex. All are located in inaccessible terrain in heavy fuels. The fires are in the Bob Marshall and Scapegoat Wilderness Areas and are on three forests; The Flathead, Lolo and Lewis & Clark. As of September 6, 2012, the fire has burned 21,069 acres.
Acreage breakdown as of 6 Sep 2012: 16,259 acres Lewis & Clark NF; 4,033 acres Flathead NF; 777 acres Lolo NF. Falls Point Fire Acreage: 222 acres Lolo NF.
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 Jul 31, 9:41 PM MST, 2 hours 19 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREAT FALLS MT 1041 PM MDT TUE JUL 31 2012 ...UPDATE TO AVIATION... .DISCUSSION... UPDATE FORTHCOMING. HAVE MADE MINOR TWEAKS TO THE POP AND WEATHER GRIDS. RADAR RETURNS CONTINUE TO INDICATE SHOWERS AND ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS DEVELOPING AND MOVING ACROSS PORTIONS OF SOUTHWEST MONTANA. THIS ACTIVITY SHOULD GRADUALLY END BY MIDNIGHT. THE SREF CONTINUES TO BRING A WEAK SHORTWAVE ACROSS CENTRAL MONTANA AFTER MIDNIGHT AND DEVELOPS AN AREA OF PRECIPITATION FROM GREAT FALLS EAST. THIS IS WELL HANDLED BY THE CURRENT FORECAST. TEMPERATURES LOOK REASONABLE. EMANUEL && .AVIATION... UPDATED 0441Z. VFR CONDITIONS WILL DOMINATE THE TAF SITES FOR THE NEXT 24 HOURS. AREAS OF SMOKE FROM FIRES WEST OF DIVIDE AND OVER THE ROCKY MOUNTAIN FRONT WILL REDUCE VISIBILITIES TO IFR CONDITIONS IN PLUMES OF SMOKE ALOFT...WITH MOUNTAINS/PASSES POSSIBLY OBSCURED AT TIME. SMOKE PROBLEMS WILL INCREASE OVERNIGHT AS THE SMOKE SETTLES OVER THE LOWER ELEVATIONS. SUK && .PREV DISCUSSION...ISSUED 305 PM MDT TUE JUL 31 2012 TONIGHT THROUGH THURSDAY...A RIDGE OF HIGH PRESSURE OVER THE AREA WILL CONTINUE TO FLATTEN OUT OVER THE NEXT FEW DAYS. THIS WILL HELP BRING SLIGHTLY COOLER TEMPERATURES INTO THE AREA...WITH NEAR SEASONAL TEMPERATURES ON THURSDAY. A WEAK WAVE MOVING THROUGH THE AREA TONIGHT WILL GENERATE A FEW THUNDERSTORMS OVER SOUTHWEST AND PORTIONS OF CENTRAL MONTANA. DRIER AND MORE STABLE AIR WILL MOVE INTO THE AREA ON WEDNESDAY WITH ONLY A FEW THUNDERSTORMS POSSIBLE DURING THE AFTERNOON. A TROUGH OF LOW PRESSURE WILL MOVE ONSHORE IN SOUTHWESTERN CANADA ON WEDNESDAY AND TRACK TOWARDS MONTANA... REACHING THE AREA ON THURSDAY. THIS WILL HELP BREAK DOWN THE RIDGE OF HIGH PRESSURE THURSDAY. A LEE TROUGH OF LOW PRESSURE WILL STRENGTHEN THE PRESSURE GRADIENT OVER THE AREA ON THURSDAY WITH BREEZY SOUTHWESTERLY WINDS DEVELOPING OVER THE AREA. A COLD FRONT ASSOCIATED WITH THE MAIN UPPER LEVEL TROUGH OF LOW PRESSURE WILL REACH THE FAR NORTHERN COUNTIES BY LATE AFTERNOON THURSDAY. WHILE MOST OF THE AREA WILL REMAIN DRY ON THURSDAY LOCATIONS ALONG AND BEHIND THE COLD FRONT WILL HAVE THE CHANCE FOR SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS. WINDS WILL SHIFT TO THE NORTH BEHIND THE COLD FRONT USHERING IN MUCH COOLER AIR. LANGLIEB THURSDAY NIGHT THROUGH TUESDAY...AN UPPER LEVEL LOW ORIGINATING IN THE GULF OF AK DIGS SE ALONG THE U.S./CANADIAN BORDER THURSDAY NIGHT AND FRIDAY. AT THE SURFACE...A CANADIAN COLD FRONT WILL SURGE SOUTH THROUGH THE FORECAST AREA THURSDAY EVENING WITH A COOLER CANADIAN AIRMASS FOLLOWING AND REMAINING OVER THE REGION THROUGH FRIDAY. SHOWERS WILL SPREAD SOUTH BEHIND THE FRONT THURSDAY NIGHT WITH BETTER CHANCES OVER NORTHERN ZONES CLOSEST TO THE TRACK OF THE UPPER LEVEL CIRCULATION. THE GLACIER PARK AREA LOOKS TO RECEIVE THE MOST WIDESPREAD PRECIP THURSDAY NIGHT AND ENOUGH COOLING LOOKS TO OCCUR THERE FOR SNOW LEVELS TO LOWER TO AROUND 9000 FT...POSSIBLY DUSTING THE HIGHEST PEAKS IN THE PARK. TEMPERATURES WILL BE AROUND 5 DEGREES BELOW CLIMATOLOGICAL AVERAGES ON FRIDAY AND NEARLY 20 DEGREES COOLER THAN THE RECENT WARMTH WE HAVE BEEN EXPERIENCING. COOL CYCLONIC FLOW ALOFT ON FRIDAY WILL ALSO KEEP THE CHANCE FOR SHOWERS/THUNDERSTORMS IN THE FORECAST...MAINLY OVER NORTHERN ZONES. UPPER LEVEL RIDGING QUICKLY REBUILDS BACK INTO THE NORTHERN ROCKIES AND MT FRIDAY NIGHT THOUGH EARLY NEXT WEEK FOR A RETURN TO ABOVE AVERAGE TEMPERATURES BY SUNDAY AND LIKELY CONTINUING INTO NEXT WEEK. HOENISCH && .FIRE WEATHER... UPDATED 31/2100Z. DRY WEATHER AND LOW HUMIDITIES CAN BE EXPECTED ON WEDNESDAY. A COLD FRONT WILL MOVE SOUTHWARD THROUGH THE REGION THURSDAY AFTERNOON AND EVENING. EXPECT LOW HUMIDITIES AND GUST WEST WINDS AHEAD OF THE FRONT. THESE CONDITIONS COMBINED WITH A WIND SHIFT WILL ALLOW FOR CRITICAL FIRE WEATHER CONDITIONS ON THURSDAY. THUS A FIRE WEATHER WATCH HAS BEEN ISSUED FOR THE ENTIRE REGION. EXPECT A GOOD CHANCE FOR A WETTING RAIN OVER MUCH OF NORTH CENTRAL MONTANA THURSDAY NIGHT THROUGH FRIDAY MORNING...WHILE MAINLY SHOWERS CAN BE EXPECTED OVER THE SOUTHWEST. MUCH COOLER TEMPERATURES AND HIGHER HUMIDITIES CAN BE EXPECTED ON FRIDAY. BRUSDA && .PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS... GTF 57 89 55 83 / 20 10 10 10 CTB 51 83 52 74 / 10 10 10 30 HLN 58 89 56 85 / 10 10 10 10 BZN 50 90 48 87 / 20 10 10 10 WEY 41 81 38 77 / 20 20 10 10 DLN 51 87 49 83 / 20 10 10 10 HVR 56 88 55 84 / 10 10 10 20 LWT 55 84 52 81 / 30 10 10 10 && .TFX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... FIRE WEATHER WATCH FROM THURSDAY AFTERNOON THROUGH THURSDAY EVENING BLAINE...BROADWATER...CASCADE...CENTRAL AND SOUTHERN LEWIS AND CLARK...CHOUTEAU...EASTERN GLACIER...EASTERN PONDERA... EASTERN TETON...FERGUS...HILL...JEFFERSON...JUDITH BASIN... LIBERTY...NORTHERN ROCKY MOUNTAIN FRONT...SOUTHERN ROCKY MOUNTAIN FRONT...TOOLE. FIRE WEATHER WATCH FROM THURSDAY AFTERNOON THROUGH FRIDAY EVENING GALLATIN...MEAGHER. FIRE WEATHER WATCH FROM THURSDAY AFTERNOON THROUGH FRIDAY EVENING MADISON. && SHORT TERM...EMANUEL/LANGLIEB LONG TERM...HOENISCH AVIATION...BRUSDA WEATHER.GOV/GREATFALLS
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK...UPDATED NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREAT FALLS MT 236 PM MDT TUE JUL 31 2012 MTZ009>015-044>055-011200- NORTHERN ROCKY MOUNTAIN FRONT-EASTERN GLACIER-HILL-CASCADE- CHOUTEAU-CENTRAL AND SOUTHERN LEWIS AND CLARK-MADISON-TOOLE- LIBERTY-EASTERN PONDERA-BLAINE-SOUTHERN ROCKY MOUNTAIN FRONT- EASTERN TETON-JUDITH BASIN-FERGUS-JEFFERSON-BROADWATER-MEAGHER- GALLATIN- 236 PM MDT TUE JUL 31 2012 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF CENTRAL MONTANA...NORTH CENTRAL MONTANA AND SOUTHWEST MONTANA. .DAY ONE...THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT THE PROBABILITY FOR WIDESPREAD HAZARDOUS WEATHER FOR TONIGHT IS LOW. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...WEDNESDAY THROUGH MONDAY CRITICAL FIRE WEATHER CONDITIONS ARE POSSIBLE ACROSS MUCH OF THE REGION ON THURSDAY. THUS A FIRE WEATHER WATCH HAS BEEN ISSUED FOR MUCH OF THE REGION FOR THURSDAY AFTERNOON AND EVENING. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... ANY SPOTTER REPORTS OF NEW FIRES WOULD GREATLY BE APPRECIATED. MTZ008-011200- BEAVERHEAD- 236 PM MDT TUE JUL 31 2012 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF SOUTHWEST MONTANA. .DAY ONE...THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT THE PROBABILITY FOR WIDESPREAD HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS LOW. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...WEDNESDAY THROUGH MONDAY THE PROBABILITY FOR WIDESPREAD HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS LOW. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT EXPECTED AT THIS TIME.
1 wildfire. Local standard time, as filed.
The Elbow Pass Complex is a group of wildfires comprised of five different lightning ignitions from July 12 through July 31.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Montana in 2012Every state in 2012This day in weather historyWarnings in Montana, August 2012
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: 397914.