Missoula County Puts Data Centers On Pause For A Year

Missoula County is now firmly in the camp of communities turning away from data centers, or at least analyzing strict rules for siting them.

Alarmed by a proposal to open a data center in Bonner, which critics say would have needed more power than the entire City of Missoula, county commissioners are enacting a one-year moratorium on zoning for data centers, at least until their impacts can be fully analyzed.

Even though the Krambu proposal appears to be dead, a long line of people urged the commissioners to hit pause during a big hearing yesterday.

Speakers like lifelong resident Nathan Stephens urged the county to answer the serious questions.

"Whether facilities like this belong in Missoula County at all," Stephens said as he kicked off the testimony. "Given what they ask of our water, our power grid, and our communities in return for very little in local jobs or lasting benefits."

"And I am confident that by passing this moratorium, the county can take the time it needs to determine together what our community needs," Carla Abrams added.

County Commissioner Josh Slotnick noted that the only thing that had helped to interrupt the Krambu proposal was the county's existing zoning rules that were adopted five years ago, after a cryptocurrency mining operation at the same location caused similar concerns.

The new rules will be an expansion of the zoning changes the county effected 5-years ago when an ill-fated cryptocurrency mining operation brought complaints about noise in the same location.

Here comes the "hoot owl" restrictions

Yellowstone National Park is implementing new fishing restrictions to protect its native trout population.

Due to hot weather and low river flows, park officials have announced daily afternoon fishing closures on select rivers. Starting Thursday at 2 p.m. and continuing daily until sunrise, fishing is prohibited on the Madison and Firehole rivers, as well as portions of the Gibbon River, along with their associated tributaries.

Water temperatures in these areas have recently topped 68 degrees. Park biologists say these warm waters, combined with air temperatures nearing 90 degrees this week, create lethal conditions for the fish. Anglers in open areas are being urged to fish during the cooler morning hours, land their catches quickly, and gently handle fish in the water to reduce stress before release.

Yellowstone Lake and other unlisted waters remain open. For a complete rundown of the closures, you can visit the National Park Service website.

Friday, Montana FWP also added restrictions on several additional rivers, including the Sun River, Lower Madison, the Madison above Hebgen Reservoir, and the Lower Beaverhead to the confluence with the Big Hole.

Here comes the heat for sure

This weekend's weather will not only be dangerously hot in Eastern Montana, but it will likely break records, some of which date back to before World War 2.

Billings was still around 70 degrees at 4 o'clock this morning, and the National Weather Service is now saying afternoon highs will soar to 106 on Saturday, 11 on Sunday, and "cool" to 100 on Monday. For comparison, the record for Saturday in Billings is 102, set in 1939, and 107 on Sunday, from 2022.

Miles City is forecast to reach 106 on Saturday and 112 on Sunday. Saturday's record is 102, from 2013, and 104 on Sunday, which dates back to when Eisenhower was president.

The heat index for much of the eastern half of the state will hit 4, which is the highest level, with an extreme heat warning in effect for Billings, west to Livingston, north to Miles City, Glendive, and Glasgow, stretching west along the eastern HiLine.

A heat advisory is up for Great Falls, which is expected to peak Sunday at 102, Havre, Helena, and also into Central and Eastern Idaho.

Missoula will top out in the upper 90s, Butte at 91, and Kalispell should stay in the upper 80s.

Fire danger climbs

Fire weather is also a concern, with low humidity and winds compounding the heat problems. Montana DNRC is reporting 75 fire starts in the past week, 11 yesterday alone. And not all are wildfires. Glasgow fire crews were called out yesterday to deal with a blaze in the city landfill.

Most jurisdictions are increasing their fire danger as well, Lolo National Forest among those that increased in a "high" fire risk yesterday.