Montana Wildfire News

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.

Have you ever walked around in a recently burned forest? One of those areas where perhaps last summer you saw flames leaping out or smoke billowing? If not, I urge you to go out and take a look at this unique environment. I had never spent any time in a burned forest until a few years ago. I was immediately impressed with the beauty and abundant life I found in this transformed forest.

This year’s fire season is off to a slow start, but it could ramp up in July. That’s according an update Montana’s State Forester gave to state lawmakers Wednesday.

Thirty-plus years ago when I was studying wildlife management at Oregon State University, we learned that Ceanothus was a highly preferred forage plant for deer and elk during the winter. I knew that Ceanothus was the genus name of a large group of western shrubs and I even knew enough to recognize a few of the individual species back then.

Even as floodwaters submerge swaths of western Montana , fire scientists and land managers are thinking a season ahead to when fires will bloom on the landscape. They’re trying to educate the public about a paradoxical concept: Putting fire back on the landscape to avoid smokey summers like last year.