UNDATED (AP) — Montana officials expect a normal 2012 after cool weather and spring floods all but eliminated the fire season last year.

Northern Rockies Coordination Center meteorologist Bryan Henry says mountain snowpack is at average levels and, barring a rapid warm-up, fire season is expected to run from July to September.

He says the state's plains are an exception and will be ready to burn with a "couple of dry, windy days."

In some states, fire season is already under way. Colorado had a deadly wildfire last month. Other Western states have reported hundreds of smaller fires.

Federal meteorologists say nearly all of the Southwest is experiencing drought.

And that's coming off a year in which Arizona and New Mexico experienced their worst wildfires on record.

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