Montana News Roundup: Worst Smoke This Summer

Montanans who have respiratory problems should be able to breathe easier again after today, as we're emerging from the most concentrated hit of fire smoke we've seen this summer.

The National Weather Service had issued air quality advisories for Western Montana through this morning. But nearly every monitoring station across the state was showing impacts yesterday. Even in Miles City, miles from forest fires, the air quality occasionally reached "unhealthy for sensitive groups" levels. Most locations had "moderate" air quality. And by late afternoon, places along the eastern border were reporting "good" air quality again.

To put that in perspective, that's not nearly as bad as some of the conditions we've had in years where there's both smoke from local and regional fires, creating pockets of "unhealthy" air.

New fire erupts south of Dillon

Even with cooler temperatures ahead, there's further proof of how dry we are entering September with a fast-moving fire in Southwest Montana growing by more than a thousand acres, even in the overnight hours.

The Forest Service says the Timber Butte Fire is burning in the Hidden Pasture Creek Wilderness Area west of Dell. It was first spotted on Wednesday afternoon and had burned over 2200 acres as of last night.

     🔥 It's a backcountry fire, but some adjacent roads and trails have been closed for safety.

Other fire updates

Winds were challenging on the remaining fire lines today. The most active blaze, the Windy Rock Fire in Powell County, has now topped 5-thousand acres. But fire managers are confident we're reaching the end of the fire weather.

"We feel that we're going to be back in a position where our actions can outpace the projected fire growth." - Operations Chief Ian Ricket

Meanwhile, fire crews are wrapping up work on those two big fires in Madison County. The Bivens Creek fire, where that Oregon firefighter died two weeks ago, is now 94% contained. The 3100 acre Cloudrest Fire to the north is now 35% contained.

Can you bear being face-to-face with a grizzly?

Most of us think we would be able to stand our ground with bear spray as a grizzly charges from mere yards away.

Next week, Missoula area residents will get a chance to prove that, albeit with fewer real teeth headed your direction.

A new bear spray training trailer is set to make its debut next Wednesday. The trailer was developed as a joint partnership between Montana FWP, Montana's Outdoor Legacy Foundation, with support from Safari Club International Foundation, the Western Montana Chapter of SCI, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

     🐻 The trailer is equipped with a robotic bear rushing at you at 35 miles per hour. The demonstration will be at FWP Region 2 headquarters off Spurgin Road on Wednesday at 4 pm.

Delegation is happy with the coal comeback measure

Representative Troy Downing says passage of a resolution to overturn a plan to shut off coal mining in the Powder River Basin and surrounding areas helps to reverse a Biden Administration policy, which he says would have blocked access to 30% of the U.S coal reserves.

"The vast majority of Americans rely on coal for at least part of their electricity every single day," Downing said in a House floor speech. "And at no point did Biden's Bureau of Land Management stop to consider the $46 million in lost revenue to the State of Montana, money that helps pay for K through 12 education."

     The resolution over the Miles City Resource Management Plan amendment, which now goes to the Senate.

Missoula airport paving in final stages, terminal open

Missoula Montana Airport managers say they're still on track to reopen the airport later this weekend, as contractors wrap up a massive project to repave the airport's runway and connecting taxiways.

The airport has been shut down all week as the work progresses, with 3-hundred people involved in the project.

But Airport Deputy Director Tim Damrow says the terminal is still open if anyone needs to come by to book an upcoming flight or return a rental car.

     ✈️ The airport has been using the week to catch up on maintenance, cleaning, and training.