A new state report says 2017 was likely the the most expensive fire season in Montana history . That report by state legislative analysts said the state spent $74 million on fire suppression. The next closest year was 2012, when the state spent less than $60 million.

On Monday, Republican Senator Steve Daines joined three other Republicans in releasing draft legislation they say would reverse the so-called Cottonwood decision. Both Daines and his Democratic counterpart, Jon Tester, see it as one way to prevent wildfires, but it’s much bigger than that.

Montana's wildfire season has stirred up another round of bickering over a host of issues including fire and forest management and construction in the wildland-urban interface. A public forum Tuesday evening will try to cut through the noise.

Multiple wildfires discovered yesterday continue burning across Flathead County. High winds took down power lines and caused smoldering debris piles to escape their perimeters. Four of the fires authorities are responding to range in size from 200 to 300 acres.

A Missoula-based fire aviation company is pulling planes out of retirement to help battle California’s devastating wildfires. Two of Neptune Aviation’s legacy P2V air tankers just can’t be kept out of the fight.

Future fire seasons in Montana don’t have to be as bad as this one, a new report says, if people here can learn lessons from other states and better use existing tools.