"You can get an effective room air cleaner that you can make yourself for between $35 and $45," says Mechanical Engineer Tom Javins.

The Hog Trough fire is burning about 300 acres in the Sapphire Wilderness Study Area in both the Bitterroot and Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forests.

Missoula officials on Monday, July 18, raised the fire danger in the county to ‘high’ due to increasing temperatures and drying vegetation.

Experts say a light blanket of smoke is expected to cover most of Montana throughout the rest of this week. The smoke appears to be coming from the Washburn Fire burning in Yosemite National Park in California.

Montana fire officials are reminding the public of fire danger across the state approaching the Fourth of July holiday. The Flathead, Lolo and Bitterroot National Forests are all currently under moderate fire danger.

A wildfire that burned in the Helena Valley is fully contained after it forced several residents to evacuate from their homes Monday afternoon.

Under the “moderate” danger, officials say fires can start from most accidental causes. Fire Prevention Specialist Anna Bateson says recreators should be sure to thoroughly douse any campfires with water and avoid parking campers and trailers on dry grasses.

The Biden administration made good on a promised, but long-delayed pay raise for federal firefighters on Tuesday. The first of those temporary payments should be delivered next month.

Federal and state land managers in Montana are not yet fully staffed with their usual number of seasonal firefighters. During its hiring process, the U.S. Forest Service has faced the same workforce shortage pressures affecting the private sector.

Potential for significant wildland fire is anticipated to be normal this June, according to the latest forecast from the National Interagency Fire Center. However, that could change later this summer, especially in areas east of the Continental Divide.