Upper Smith Fire

Perimeter mapped September 5, 2026 at 1:22 PM PDT, 4,848 acres (mixed methods). Point of origin 48.928, -116.608.

Live radar at the fire Forecast for Bonners Ferry

Size

4,848 acres

Containment

41%

Discovered

July 8, 2026 at 8:29 AM PDT

Cause

Natural

Location

6 Miles W from Porthill, ID

County

Boundary County

State

Idaho

Nearest city reported

Bonners Ferry

Protecting agency

USFS

Jurisdiction

USFS

Land ownership at origin

USFS

Personnel assigned

26

Incident management

Type 4 IC, Type 4 Incident

Primary fuel

Timber (Litter and Understory)

Estimated cost to date

$33,077,508

Incident type

Wildfire

Unique fire identifier

2026-IDIPF-000347

IRWIN identifier

AA3DF707-B3F6-41B8-A5FF-BF502A918FFC

Mapped area at the last perimeter of each day, from July 10, 2026 (242 acres) to September 5, 2026 (4,848 acres). The largest one-day growth was 3,366 acres, mapped September 2, 2026.

• Wind up to 10 mph from the southwest
• Relative humidity as low as 34%
• High of 69°F

National Weather Service hourly forecast for the fire’s point of origin, next 24 hours.

Full forecast for Bonners Ferry, ID

Red Flag Warnings and Fire Weather Watches covering the fire's point of origin.

No Red Flag Warning or Fire Weather Watch is in force at the fire.

NOAA’s Hazard Mapping System analysts have not drawn smoke over the fire’s origin today.

NOAA’s smoke model forecasts near-surface smoke at the origin peaking at 0.8 µg/m³ around Tue, 5:00 PM PDT over the next 48 hours.

Smoke and fire layers on the radar

Posted on InciWeb, updated September 17, 2026.

The Upper Smith fire is located within the Smith Creek drainage, approximately 6 miles west of Porthill, Idaho and about 20 miles northwest of Bonners Ferry, Idaho. The fire was ignited by lightning on July 8th, 2026 . It is burning on a steep, north-facing slope in heavy timber with significant concentrations of dead and down fuels. The Northern Idaho Blue Team assumed command of the fire on August 12, 2026, at 6:00 am. A full suppression strategy will continue to be implemented utilizing direct and indirect tactics to protect critical values at-risk and minimize firefighter risk exposure.

Original at InciWeb

• Bonners Ferry, ID21 miles southeast of the fire’s origin
• Ponderay, ID43 miles south of the fire’s origin
• Sandpoint, ID45 miles south of the fire’s origin
• Priest River, ID53 miles south of the fire’s origin
• Newport, WA55 miles south of the fire’s origin
• Libby, MT61 miles southeast of the fire’s origin