Wildfire Hits Maverick Mountain: Sand Creek Fire Damages Historic Ski Area

A fast-moving wildfire has struck Maverick Mountain Ski Area in southwestern Montana, damaging the resort’s only chairlift and burning across much of the mountain as firefighters work to protect nearby structures.

Fire reaches the summit, advances down the slopes

The Sand Creek Fire, which started on August 1 about 7.5 miles southeast of Wisdom, Montana, grew rapidly over the weekend under hot, dry and unstable conditions. By Monday evening, the fire’s southeast corner had reached the summit of Maverick Mountain and began burning down through the ski area’s terrain.

On Tuesday morning, Maverick Mountain posted on social media that the fire was “actively inside the ski area boundary” and that its lone double chairlift—a vintage Riblet—had sustained damage, though the full extent was unknown because crews could not yet access the property. Local reports and updates from Montana Hot Springs indicated that roughly two-thirds of the mountain had burned and that the lift had been lost, while the main lodge remained standing as of Tuesday afternoon.

Beaverhead County Sheriff David Wendt confirmed that the wildfire spread up the peak and damaged the chairlift and a small ski shack, but said the Maverick Mountain ski lodge and the nearby Elkhorn Hot Springs lodge were not damaged as of Tuesday.

Firefighting efforts and evacuations

Ahead of the fire’s arrival, crews focused on structure protection between Elkhorn Hot Springs and Maverick Mountain, installing pump and sprinkler systems around buildings and constructing handline to connect with the Sand Creek Trail. Smokejumpers and ground firefighters continued “point protection” of critical values at risk while fire managers looked for opportunities to place indirect line on the south side of the blaze.

Evacuation orders were escalated to “GO” status on August 8 for Elkhorn Hot Springs, Maverick Mountain and communities extending south to Shale Creek and Clark Creek on the north end of Grasshopper Valley, with additional neighborhoods added as the fire expanded. As of August 11, the Sand Creek Fire had grown to 19,683 acres and remained effectively uncontained, with official estimates showing only about 1% containment.

A historic small ski area under threat

Maverick Mountain, which opened in 1946, is a small, community-oriented ski area southwest of Butte near Wisdom, long popular with local families and regional skiers. Its single Riblet double chair, installed in 1969, was already slated for eventual replacement; in 2024 the resort acquired used Poma quad chairs from Aspen Mountain and Jackson Hole with plans to combine them into a new lift.

The damage to the lift marks a significant blow to the resort’s operations and to a longstanding recreation hub in Beaverhead County, even as the main lodge and some infrastructure appear to have survived the initial pass of the fire.

What’s next

Fire crews are expected to continue structure protection around Elkhorn Hot Springs and other critical areas while fire managers search for opportunities to slow the Sand Creek Fire’s advance. Conditions on the ground can change rapidly, and officials have urged residents to follow all evacuation orders and instructions from the Beaverhead County Sheriff’s Office and emergency personnel.

Further damage assessments at Maverick Mountain will depend on when crews can safely return to the property to evaluate the lift, trails and buildings in detail.