Seeley Lake

The National Weather Service reports that the Clark Fork River has dropped below 10 feet into what is called 'action stage', at 9.6 feet, but is expected to rise again as warm temperatures and rain are expected over the weekend

A study by the Montana Department of Health snd Human Services show that residents of Missoula and Powell Counties in the past fire season visited emergency rooms two to three times more than last fire season.

The rice ridge fire near Seeley Lake has been hit with rain and snow in recent weeks and according to Fire Information Officer Glenda Scott, the recent drenching over the weekend has put out all of the worrisome hotspots.

As the Rice Ridge Fire raged this summer, the residents in and around Seeley Lake suffered through historically hazardous smoke, day in and day out, and now, scientists are studying its effects.

An infrared flight over the weekend shows the Rice Ridge Fire had burned through over 160,170 acres, leading to a total bill for taxpayers of around 45 million dollars.

The Rice Ridge fire near Seeley Lake is closing in on a total firefighting cost of $38 million and is over 135,000 acres in size, making it the second most expensive fire in Montana history.

Incident Management resources are tight everywhere and Hurricane Irma could make Montana's fire season even tougher.

U.S. Mail couriers may travel through snow, rain and “gloom of night” to get the mail into Montana, but they won’t be traveling through the smoke and flames in Seeley Lake this week.

Residents in Seeley Lake have been evacuated by the Missoula County Sheriff's Office due to the rapid advance of the Rise Ridge Fire.

Seeley Lake Residents in the path of the Rice Ridge Fire have been ordered to evacuate by the Missoula County Sheriff’s Office.