Update 4:15 p.m. For the second year running, the historic Lake McDonald Lodge will close for the season early because of a fire burning in Glacier National Park. The Howe Ridge Fire continues to burn more than 3,500 acres on the northwest side of Lake McDonald.

The Flathead National Forest said Thursday it will move ahead with a commercial logging and hazardous fuels reduction project just north of Hungry Horse Reservoir.

A brand-new website consolidates statewide air quality conditions and serves as a resource for Montanans concerned about the impacts of wildfire smoke. MontanaWildfireSmoke.org is now live and made possible by a small Missoula-based non-profit called Climate Smart Missoula.

Update: 5:50 p.m. The Howe Ridge Fire in Glacier National Park that destroyed a set of historic cabins over the weekend continues to grow. Wednesday night, an infrared flight measured the fire perimeter at 3,500 acres, a growth of roughly 900-acres from two days ago.

Updated 5:25 p.m. The Flathead County Sheriff’s Office has issued an evacuation warning for a small number of residents near Essex just northwest of the Izaak Walton Inn along Highway 2 due to the Paola Ridge Fire .

On Tuesday morning the National Park Service confirmed that seven private residences, a number of outbuildings and several Park-owned historic structures were consumed when the lightning-ignited Howe Ridge Fire made a wind-fueled run Sunday night.

Update 4:58 p.m. The Highway 37 Fire that was threatening the former WR Grace asbestos mine north of Libby is now 100 percent contained. Shawn Ray-Delmas, a spokesperson for the Kootenai National Forest, says the wildfire was fully contained a few days before an official announcement was made Monday.

Eric Whitney: Nikki You're in West Glacier where the people were evacuated from the Howe Ridge Fire are getting new details about the fire and its impacts. Nicky Ouellet: Yeah Eric I'm at the park headquarters in West Glacier. There are about 70 people here. There were park staff including superintendent Jeff Mow on hand to describe the firefighters' efforts to quell the flames and then kind of walk through what homeowners themselves thought as the fire made a run toward some of their homes and

Update 5:22 p.m. Officials in Glacier National Park now say that, “a number of structures were lost last night” in the Howe Ridge wildfire that was sparked by lighting Saturday. They estimate the size of the fire on the north end of Lake McDonald at 1,500 to 2,500 acres and have offered no estimate of containment. A press release says two water scooping aircraft are drawing water from Lake McDonald and, along with a helicopter are “working to establish a secure anchor point from which to fight

Update 6:25 p.m. A new wildfire was reported at about 3 p.m. about 7 miles west of the town of Plains, just off of Highway 200.