Mineral County and parts of Missoula County underwent new fire evacuations this past weekend as the West Fork Fish Creek Fire continued to grow to over 12,000 acres. But within the past 48 hours, fire information officer Kim Smolt said clear skies have finally led firefighters to get eyes on the fire for the first time since the fire started.
Firefighters have responded to and extinguished over 30 wildfires in the Bitterroot National Forest this summer, but 18 new wildfires were started by lightning this week and all but four are currently contained.
The Reynolds Creek Fire in Glacier National Park is 67 percent contained, the Associated Press reports, but certain weather conditions this week aren't looking to decrease the flames with upcoming warm temperatures and low humidity.
The last time the Scott Firefighter Combat Challenge competition for Montana was held in Missoula was back in 1998, and the host team is pulling out all the stops this weekend to make this a memorable event.
19 hotshot firefighters lost their lives on Sunday after being trapped in a raging wildfire near Yarnell, Arizona, located northwest of Phoenix. The crew was caught as the fire quickly changed direction and they were forced to deploy their portable fire shelters, but perished in the flames.