One of the biggest wildfires in the American west right now is burning about 4 miles north of Plains in western Montana’s Sanders County.

Gov. Greg Gianforte on Monday received his first wildfire season briefing of the year. The outlook is a mixed bag. Most of Montana’s land and fire management agencies say they’re prepared for fire season. The weather forecast, however, is grim.

As summer fire season approaches, planes will soon be dropping red retardant to try to stifle the fire's spread. A new lawsuit says the Forest Service’s use of that retardant violates federal wildlife protections.

The Trump Administration has fired the workers who research on-duty deaths and long-term health of firefighters. Investigative journalist Mark Olalde wrote for ProPublica about the impact of these cuts ahead of fire season. He joins MTPR's Elinor Smith to explain.

A collaborative group aiming to keep women in firefighting jobs has been halted by the Trump Administration.

Land management agencies across the state are starting on prescribed burning projects across western Montana. Prescribed fires reduce hazardous fuels and can be beneficial to forest ecosystems.

As summer heats up in Montana, so does wildfire season. This raises the question, does winter snowpack really correlate to the severity of the wildfire season? And what does a 'normal' fire season mean?

At Neptune Aviation, an aerial firefighting company based in Missoula, maintenance crews work throughout the winter to keep their fleet ready to deploy across the country.

With the core wildfire season in the rear view mirror, fire officials are taking stock of the summer’s activity. It was marked by intense heat, fast initial attacks on new starts, and a tragic reminder of the dangers associated with fighting fire.

Within the past few days firefighters have responded to three small wildfires in western Montana.