Montana Wildfire News

An unusually dry winter fueled expectations of a long and active fire season throughout the Northern Rockies. Fire experts, however, say the reality may be more nuanced than that.

It's wildfire season. Rural communities and those on the outskirts of urban centers face greater danger than others. New research urges homeowners and state officials to rethink how they mitigate risk for those areas.

Montana will soon launch a program to better protect residents from wildfire smoke.

The Flathead National Forest is reopening more of the Hungry Horse Reservoir to the public as recent rains have helped firefighters contain wildfires in the area.

There were 24 active large fire incidents in the state as of Tuesday morning. Multiple regions in the state are using significant firefighting resources as the state remains in level 3 preparedness.

Rain has slowed the spread of the River Road East Fire that has burned down structures and more than 16,000 acres near the town of Paradise.

Record setting high temperatures and gusty winds created a dramatic increase in fire activity in western Montana Tuesday. However, much of the increased activity was inside containment lines of existing fires. High water temperatures prompted Montana wildlife officials to implement hoot-owl restrictions on the lower Madison River starting Aug. 16.

Extreme heat and critical fire conditions are forecast through Thursday. Meteorologists say records could be shattered this week.

Residents south of Highway 93 near Elmo are being told to evacuate due to a nearby wildfire. Several areas in Northwest Montana will move to Stage Two fire restrictions Saturday.

The 13,000 acre Middle Ridge Fire burning west of Ronan is listed at 25% containment. The Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes' (CSKT) Division of Fire said crews continued mop up efforts Thursday. The almost 14,000 acre Niarada Fire west of Elmo continues actively burning in a mix of timber and brush.

As fire season heats up across Montana, officials say people living in areas prone to wildfires should be ready to evacuate at a moment's notice.

The Tub Gulch Fire is burning within Libby's ‘asbestos forest' near the defunct vermiculite mine. Forest Service crews began emergency fire prevention work this week in the area around Butte's largest municipal water supply.The Flathead County Commission enacted an emergency declaration Tuesday.

Bone dry conditions, powerful winds and multiple new wildfire starts kept ground and air firefighting resources busy in recent days. Evacuation orders are in effect northwest of Polson due to the Nirada Fire.

Fire officials announced Wednesday that Stage 1 fire restrictions will be implemented across most of northwest Montana this weekend. The move comes in advance of anticipated above-normal temperatures and deepening drought conditions.

Evacuation orders and warnings remain in effect due to the Colt Fire, burning northwest of Seeley Lake. Residents near the intersection of Beaver Creek Road and Highway 83 have been ordered to evacuate. A lightning-caused fire is burning roughly 120 acres five miles east of Arlee.

MT's fire season got off to a slow start this year due to persistent rainfall. But fire officials told Gov. Gianforte that a drying and warming trend will change that.

Wildfire activity across the country is below normal this year. As the summer fire season starts to ramp up, experts ask the public to help prevent unnecessary fires.

Gov. Greg Gianforte Tuesday convened federal, state, tribal and local fire officials for a preview of the state's wildfire readiness. Forecasters say Montana could see normal fire activity this summer.

Firefighters are taking advantage of Montana's unusually warm weather to ignite some controlled burns to reduce forest fuels. The goal is to prevent or minimize the impact of more destructive fires later in the summer.

People who fly the drones over wildland fires could soon face criminal penalties under a bill gaining traction at the Legislature.

New research led by a University of Montana professor shows wildfires in the West are destroying more homes per square mile burned than in previous years. Fire ecologist Philip Higuera is the lead author on the publication and spoke with Montana Public Radio's Austin Amestoy.

A wildfire that started Tuesday afternoon is burning about 100 acres 10 miles west of Polson.

Extreme heat and bone-dry conditions are prompting officials to raise the fire danger and implement burning restrictions in parts of western Montana.

The Matt Staff Fire burning east of Helena has burned over 1,500 acres and is still active but suppressed, according to the Lewis and Clark County Sheriff.

The Elmo Fire near the western shore of Flathead Lake grew to over 18,000 acres at last report. About 150 homes are now in the mandatory evacuation area. Officials on Wednesday said the fire has burned four homes and four outbuildings and has a high potential for reaching Flathead Lake by this evening.

New evacuations orders were issued Monday afternoon for The Elmo Fire near the western shores of Flathead Lake, which had grown to nearly 13,000 acres and was zero percent contained as of firefighters' most recent update this morning.

Montana Fish Wildlife and Parks says Big Horn, Musselshell and Treasure Counties join Yellowstone County in passing Stage-1 restrictions, which apply to building fires and smoking outside.

Continued hot, dry conditions prompted the Bitterroot National Forest Monday to bump the fire danger up a notch to “Very High.”

The Black Sandy Fire burning in the hills north of Helena prompted about 30 households to evacuate this afternoon.

The Hog Trough fire is burning about 300 acres in the Sapphire Wilderness Study Area in both the Bitterroot and Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forests.

Missoula officials on Monday, July 18, raised the fire danger in the county to ‘high' due to increasing temperatures and drying vegetation.

Experts say a light blanket of smoke is expected to cover most of Montana throughout the rest of this week. The smoke appears to be coming from the Washburn Fire burning in Yosemite National Park in California.

Montana fire officials are reminding the public of fire danger across the state approaching the Fourth of July holiday. The Flathead, Lolo and Bitterroot National Forests are all currently under moderate fire danger.

A two-to-three acre fire burning near the Birdseye area northwest of Helena forced the evacuations of three homes this afternoon.

Under the “moderate” danger, officials say fires can start from most accidental causes. Fire Prevention Specialist Anna Bateson says recreators should be sure to thoroughly douse any campfires with water and avoid parking campers and trailers on dry grasses.

The Biden administration made good on a promised, but long-delayed pay raise for federal firefighters on Tuesday. The first of those temporary payments should be delivered next month.

Federal and state land managers in Montana are not yet fully staffed with their usual number of seasonal firefighters. During its hiring process, the U.S. Forest Service has faced the same workforce shortage pressures affecting the private sector.

Potential for significant wildland fire is anticipated to be normal this June, according to the latest forecast from the National Interagency Fire Center. However, that could change later this summer, especially in areas east of the Continental Divide.

Under what's known as Good Neighbor Authority, the Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation can carry out logging, thinning and other projects on U.S. Forest Service Land.

The report, spanning several years of data, measured ozone and particle pollution, which are the two most common air pollutants.

The growing national risk of wildfires prompted experts this week to ratchet up the alert system for firefighting resources. It's a subtle acknowledgment that Montana's regular wildland fire season is just around the corner.

Interior says its five-year investment in wildfire resilience will help bolster communities and ecosystems against the mounting threat of wildfires.