Montana Wildfire News
Wildfire, fire management and air quality news for western Montana and the northern Rockies.
Wildfires across the country are getting bigger, hotter and more devastating. But what’s all this fire really mean — for the West, for firefighters and for everyday folks? Tag along with a firefighter in this episode of Fireline.
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Water is running in Browning, but should still be boiled for now, Blackfeet Water Director K. Webb Galbreath says. Firefighters Wednesday night quickly knocked down a blaze in the facility housing the Missoula Smokejumper Base.
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Nearly two dozen property owners near Paradise filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court alleging the River Road East Fire was started by a railcar. The fire burned a little over 17,000 acres near Paradise and destroyed around 15 homes in August.
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Wildfires are now a year-round threat in Montana, but peak wildfire season is now behind us. According to the latest data from the Montana DNRC, 1,600 total fires scorched over 117,000 acres – about a six percent drop from last year.
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The project near Olney is within the area burned by the East Fork Fire this summer. The project would allow for logging on 250 acres to salvage fire-killed trees that would otherwise decay. It would also include a half-mile of temporary road construction.
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A new study finds that smoke from massive wildfires has eroded about a quarter of the air quality gains from the last few decades.
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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.
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Persistent rainfall in northwest Montana has subdued large wildfires in the area.
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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.
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The River Road East fire burned dozens of buildings near Paradise. The fire's activity was temporarily tampered down, but the incident is far from full containment.
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This week’s rain and cool temperatures won't last long. More seasonally hot weather is just around the corner and the potential for new wildfires to start remains high.