Wildfires

University of Montana Associate Professor of Fire Ecology Phillip Higuera has released a new study linking the effects of long term climate change on this past summer’s devastating fire season along the west coast.

You may have noticed what looked like small snowflakes drifting down from the sky in western Montana on Monday, but they were actually bits of ash that traveled from California, Washington and Oregon fires all the way to the Missoula valley.

Montana Senator Steve Daines made a brief appearance on the KGVO Montana Morning News show on Friday to talk about a number of subjects.

With the Magpie Rock Fire burning over 2,000 acres in Sanders County and several other smaller fires burning in the Mission and Flathead areas, smoke is making its way into the Missoula and Bitterroot Valleys.

With the hot temperatures this week and a dry, windy weekend, fire officials are warning outdoor recreationists to be extra careful with fires, especially campfires.

In southeastern Montana there have been far fewer wildfires than in the western half of the state, thanks to a unique partnership between the Department of Natural Resources and Conservation and local and volunteer firefighting agencies.

Fire officials are still concerned about the danger of wildfire in western Montana, despite the calendar advancing into September.

Firefighters are working to suppress two small wildfires spotted in the Bitterroot National Forest that were discovered on Saturday.

On Wednesday’s Talk Back show, Dr. Peter Kolb with the MSU College of Forestry and Conservation, housed at the University of Montana, provided an overview of western Montana’s forest health.

When a fire breaks out in the mountain west, the Northern Rockies Interagency Support Cache right here in Missoula can supply everything firefighters need almost at a moment's notice.