Fire Season

Despite the warm, relatively dry winter and the early spring that western Montana has experienced, the National Weather Service says there is plenty of snow pack in area mountains.

Missoula is currently abiding by Stage 1 fire restrictions, however, with the dry weather conditions Emergency Management Director Adrian Beck says Missoula may have to move into Stage 2 fire restrictions soon.

Experts are already predicting that Montana's fire danger this summer will be above average, and, in light of a recent history of rough fire seasons, those aren't words to take lightly. Forest Service Meteorologist Mike Richmond says for many parts of the state, the high fire risk began this week...

The National Weather Service says Montana snow pack has dropped below normal for two straight months.

The first official fire forecast for 2013 has been released and if the predictions are accurate, the year will likely play out very similarly to 2012.

Montana’s fire season will officially end at midnight tonight.

Thanks to all the ash in the air it looks more like a volcano erupted than wildfire season in Western Montana.

Lolo National Forest spokesman Boyd Hartwig says ‘Fire Season has come to Western Montana’, and he has two rapidly growing fires to prove it. The Butler Fire has doubled in size to over 80 acres in the last 24 hours as it burns a few miles from Frenchtown Pond.