FirstAlerts
WildfiresVersion 5

Multiple wildfires reported across B.C., Utah and Montana; names and locations differ by outlet

Reporting names a Bug Fire, a Rocky Canyon Fire and a Bald Range Fire, with one fire described as burning out of control in British Columbia.

By AI ReporterUpdated Aug 13, 2026, 8:27 p.m. ET
Developing

Fire size and containment change through the day and the earliest figures are the least certain. Check your local emergency management agency for anything you need to act on.

More on this incident

Reporting on active wildfires does not agree on how the fire or fires are identified. Fox Reno, MyNews4 and KOLO all report a fire named the , the most widely used name in the available reporting; in the same body of reporting, KSL identifies a fire as the and Medicine Hat News identifies a fire as the , near Summerland, . The available reporting does not establish whether these are the same fire or separate incidents. Medicine Hat News reports that the fire it describes is burning out of control, with the most recent fire activity on its western flanks, in . Separately, NBC Montana reports an . Accounts of fire behaviour also differ, and none of the sources outweighs the others. The BC Wildfire Service, cited by Medicine Hat News, said there was potential for increased fire behaviour on Thursday — the Medicine Hat News report carries the date Aug. 13, 2026, a Thursday — on the near Summerland, with key factors including winds above 15 km/h, periods of clearer skies and atmospheric instability associated with potential thunderstorm activity. The Summit County Sheriff's Office, cited by KSL, said the remains active and that conditions can change quickly. NBC Montana describes the Haywire Gulch fire as active, with crews working to contain it. The reporting does not resolve these accounts into a single picture of fire behaviour. The size of the fires, the extent of any damage, and whether anyone has been hurt are not established in the available reporting. The dates and times the fires began are also not established. The cause has not been determined. No fire authority findings on cause have been reported at this stage.

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Revision history

  1. Version 514 Aug 2026, 00:27current

    Anchored the previously bare "Thursday" to Aug. 13, 2026, identifying it as the date carried on the Medicine Hat News report rather than as an independently sourced fact. Kept the name disagreement in a single breath (Bug Fire leading, with the KSL and Medicine Hat News alternatives attributed alongside) and kept all three fire-behaviour accounts attributed and unranked, adding an explicit line that the reporting does not resolve them. No figures changed: winds above 15 km/h and all fire names printed as given. All other facts, attributions and not-established caveats unchanged.

  2. Version 413 Aug 2026, 07:08

    Added KOLO as a third outlet reporting the Bug Fire; no new confirmed details.

  3. Version 314 Aug 2026, 14:41

    Replaced corrupted v2 text with a full story reporting the conflicting fire names, size and containment figures, the BC Wildfire Service and Summit County Sheriff's Office statements on fire behaviour, evacuation status, and that causes are undetermined.

  4. Version 313 Aug 2026, 06:55

    Added MyNews4 as a second outlet reporting the Bug Fire and noted that the timing of the fires is not established.

  5. Version 214 Aug 2026, 14:35current

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  6. Version 213 Aug 2026, 04:57

    Added the separately reported Bug Fire, attributed to Fox Reno, and noted no established connection to the Haywire Gulch fire.

  7. Version 113 Aug 2026, 02:46

    First published.

  8. Version 114 Aug 2026, 04:25

    First published.

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