Summer’s barely a month old, but a Missoula aviation and air tanker company is already running at full tilt. “Neptune Aviation is incredibly busy right now,” says Neptune Aviation spokesman Kevin Condit. “We’re really flying a lot of fires in a lot of different states. We’re everywhere from Colorado to California and in between. It’s been a busy fire season so far.”

Smoke visible in the Missoula area Monday dropped the air quality to "moderate." The smoke is likely coming from the Klamathon Fire in California. Sarah Coefield of Missoula City-County Health Department said the fire is burning about 35,000 acres near the California/Oregon border.

For most Montanans, wildfire smoke is ‘out of sight, out of mind’. It’s been almost a year since smoke pollution filled Missoula County, turning the air yellow and creating a public health crisis for residents. But one air quality expert is urging people to start preparing for the smoke before wildfire season arrives.

Wildland fire officials with the Missoula County Fire Protection Association are elevating fire danger in Missoula County to 'moderate'. The change is effective midnight July 4. Weather forecasters predict hot and dry conditions by the end of the week, with temperatures ranging into the 90s throughout the region.

The National Interagency Fire Center raised the national preparedness level up a notch today as wildfires across the southwest and lower Rockies require more firefighting resources. Northwest Montana remains at the lowest preparedness level.

State officials are encouraging Flathead Valley residents to take care of any debris burning before Sunday. On July 1, no debris burning is allowed in Flathead and Northern Lake Counties.

The Bitterroot National Forest is changing its fire danger level from ‘Low’ to ‘Moderate’ starting Wednesday, June 27. The shift to ‘moderate’ means that wildfires can now be expected to start from most accidental causes. In addition to lightning, that includes human causes like smoldering campfires left unattended.

A new study says the number of homes constructed in areas with high wildfire risks has doubled in western Montana since 1990 , outpacing development rates in areas with low fire hazards.

You've probably seen woodpeckers. Whether attracting them to your backyard with suet feeders, or hearing them drill on the side of your house, you have probably noticed their large pointed beak and ability to climb tree trunks. But besides downy and hairy woodpeckers, which are seen often in Montana, we also have some types of woodpeckers that live in some of the most unique habitats and do some of the most peculiar things of any animal in the Rocky Mountains.

Montana has just over $4 million in its firefighting reserve fund at the start of what’s expected to be ripe conditions for a substantial fire season . That means the state is significantly short of having the cash on hand needed cover the costs of even an average season. But Governor Steve Bullock says fire suppression won’t be limited this season, despite depleted funding reserves.