Montana News Roundup: Here Comes the Smoke (and Fire)
It's not just the heat that will make it feel like mid-summer today. We're starting to get our first taste of the Canadian fire smoke over the weekend. Until now, most of the smoke from the huge fires in Alberta, British Columbia, and Saskatchewan had been pouring into the Midwest and the Northeast.
However, that pattern shifted on Sunday, and once again today, many of our towns and cities will experience hazy conditions, with smoke spreading as far west as Missoula.
Temperatures will also hit some very high marks for this early in June, with locations in Western Montana well into the mid to upper 90s. Great Falls and Billings will be around 90, but it real reach the upper 70s to mid 80s in Southwest Montana.
💨 Expect more smoke today, especially through the morning hours, although most of the air quality was still showing as "moderate" across the eastern half of the state.
So fire, so good, in Montana
Fire crews in Northeastern Montana will be breathing a little easier today after the area got blasted with high winds, low relative humidity, and hot temperatures yesterday, the hazardous combination that leads to "red flag" warnings.
Those expired late last night. Although DNRC reports a few additional fire starts over the weekend, most remained under 40 acres, as of last night.
The good news is, firefighters were able to secure 100% containment on the Banana Lake Fire over the weekend in Sanders County.
READ MORE: Top 10-things To Do In Montana This Summer, According to Locals
Northwestern Energy Makes Critical Rate Pitch
Expecting a lot of headlines out of Helena in the next few days, as the Montana Public Service Commission continues its rate hearing for Northwestern Energy. As Peter Christen reports, it's a showdown getting additional attention after Northwestern pulled an unexpected move last month.
6 dead grizzlies in Montana
The latest confrontation between a landowner and a bear means there are now half a dozen grizzlies that have died that way already this season.
Montana FWP says a grizzly charged a resident on his property in the Swan Valley after he came out to check on a disturbance with his livestock and dogs. The man shot and killed the bear, but wasn't injured.
FWP is asking people to reach out for help if they're having bear conflicts on their property.
Montana Monday Math
Last year, somewhere between 355,000 and 380,000 acres burned in Montana. (That's lower than the 10-year average of 470,000 acres).
By some estimates, more than 6.4 million acres have already burned in more than 1700 blazes in Canada.
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