As of : FEMA’s OpenFEMA data lists 68 Fire disaster declarations for Montana, from Aug 16, 1973 to Aug 14, 2026. The most recent is “SAND CREEK FIRE”. That is 61.8% of all Montana declarations. 3 are major disaster declarations. 24 came in the last ten years.
This page is a historical count of federal declarations. It is not a warning or emergency guidance: for current local emergency information use your state or county emergency management office.
Last checked against the source: . This product uses the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s OpenFEMA API, but is not endorsed by FEMA. The Federal Government or FEMA cannot vouch for the data or analyses derived from these data after the data have been retrieved from the Agency's website(s). Counts are made by this site from FEMA's published rows: each disaster number is counted once per state and incident type.
Extended data
Measure
Value
Declarations (distinct disaster numbers)
68
Major disaster declarations (DR)
3
Emergency declarations (EM)
0
Fire management declarations (FM)
65
Area designations (counties and other areas, all declarations)
154
Declarations with Individual Assistance
1
Declarations with Public Assistance
67
Declarations with Hazard Mitigation
23
Declarations in the last 10 years
24
First declaration in the data
Aug 16, 1973
Most recent declaration
Aug 14, 2026
Most recent declaration title
SAND CREEK FIRE
Years from first to latest (inclusive)
54
Average declarations per year (calculated)
1.26
Share of all declarations in this state (calculated)
61.8%
All declarations in this state, every incident type in scope
110
Share of all declarations of this incident type nationwide (calculated)
3.8%
Rank among states and territories for this incident type
11
Rank among this state's incident types
1
Declarations by year (the 10 most recent years that had at least one)
Year declared
Declarations
2026
1
2025
1
2024
1
2023
1
2021
5
2020
5
2019
1
2017
8
2016
1
2013
2
How the figures are counted: a declaration is counted once per state and incident type by its FEMA disaster number, even when it designates many areas; shares and the yearly average are calculated by this site from those counts.
Worked example: Montana, Fire: 68 declarations over 54 years (1973–2026) = 1.26 per year on average.
Frequently asked questions
How many Fire disaster declarations has Montana had?
OpenFEMA lists 68 Fire declarations for Montana between Aug 16, 1973 and Aug 14, 2026: 3 major disaster (DR), 0 emergency (EM) and 65 fire management (FM) declarations.
When was the most recent Fire declaration in Montana?
The most recent in the data is “SAND CREEK FIRE”, declared on Aug 14, 2026.
How does Montana compare with other states for Fire declarations?
Montana ranks 11th of 45 states and territories with at least one Fire declaration, and these declarations are 3.8% of all Fire declarations nationwide in this data.
What do DR, EM and FM mean in this data?
They are the declaration types in the OpenFEMA data: DR is a major disaster declaration, EM an emergency declaration and FM a fire management assistance declaration. One declaration can cover many areas, so area designations can exceed the number of declarations.
Is this page a warning or emergency guidance?
No. It is a historical count taken from FEMA's open data. For current emergency information use your state or county emergency management office.