wildfire

While one should never say never, fire officials are feeling optimistic that the end of the 2023 fire season may be at hand.

As if the mushroom cloud swelling north of Missoula Tuesday night wasn’t enough of a hint, Missoula was shrouded in light yellow haze Wednesday morning, an indication that excessive heat has recharged local wildfires.

Triple-digit temperatures and dry weather prompted an increase in fire activity at the Big Knife Fire on Tuesday.

Two members of the Montana football family – one current player and one former – had their homes in the picturesque town of Lahaina, Hawaii, destroyed in the devastating Maui wildfires,

The response to help in Hawaii will no doubt be huge and organizations — including the Red Cross — are already there providing aid.

Daines and Tester are both co-sponsors of the “Wildland Firefighter Paycheck Protection Act,” which would provide permanent increases in firefighters’ base pay.

Viewpoint: "Extreme heat and wildfires are aggravated by greenhouse gas emissions from burning fossil fuels. Since the 1980s, the number of acres in the US burned by wildfires has increased three-fold, and climate change has caused at least half of this."

The cool moisture moving in this weekend could help moderate local wildfires, but some will be more stubborn than others.

ke County and the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes adopted Stage 2 fire restrictions and Flathead County commissioners declared a state of emergency Tuesday in the midst of a host of wildfires that have burned more than 20,000 acres of land in the area in recent days.

Several Bitterroot Valley wildfires in recent days have claimed a number of structures and feed for livestock, and some are asking the public for help.