People Caused Most Montana Fires Again This Year

Even with the warmer and drier weather over the past week, Montana's fire season is quickly winding down. The Montana DNRC reports only one new, small fire started in the past 24 hours, with just 28 active fires, which is the lowest number in several weeks.

Barring any big fire starts or unexpected blazes through the fall, it looks like Montana's total acres burned will top just over 72,000 acres for the year, which is about half of last year's.

People continue to be the leading cause of wildfire in Montana this season, with 863 human-caused fires.

That's 39% of the total. Natural causes, primarily lightning, account for 27%. And another 27% of the fires, 600 in all, remain "undetermined" as to why they started.

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Forest Service leaders from all over the U.S. in Missoula this week

Retired Forest Service leaders from all over the country are gathering in Missoula this week for the 2025 Reunion Program, a four-day gathering to celebrate and discuss the future of the Forest Service. That includes tours of the new National Museum of Forest Service History, being constructed near the airport.

     🌲 Museum Director Lisa Tate says the building is still on track to open next spring.

"The building will actually be done before that," Tate explains. "But we'll need some time to incorporate the exhibits and to get everything set up and polish everything before the public comes in."

Retired Forest Service Chief Dale Bosworth says it's a legacy that dates back to the very beginning of the agency, including the 1910 "Big Burn" fires.

"The Forest Service and Missoula kind of grew up together, you know," Bosworth notes. "The Forest Service was first here in about 1905, and so it's very good that we're able to be the home for this center. The history of conservation that starts with the Forest Service. Really, it started in a lot of ways in this part of the world."

The event, which runs through Thursday, includes meetings and panel discussions, plus tours of historic Forest Service locations around Missoula, as well as the Missoula Smokejumpers Center, and the Fire Sciences Lab.

First report on fatal West Glacier plane crash

A preliminary report by NTSB investigators say the crash of a small plane at West Glacier that killed the pilot last month happened after the aircraft hit a tree on its second attempt to land.

The crash happened on the afternoon of August 12th at Ryan Field. Investigators, who are still working on a final report, say the pilot had flown from the Kalispell Airport, but bounced a couple of times when he attempted his first landing. After initiating a "go around", witnesses say the plane's wing clipped a tree on the second landing, rolling and hitting the woods upside down.

Meanwhile, NTSB is doing a complete "Class 4" report on the crash of a Socata turboprop at the Kalispell Airport the day before. That's an investigation that is "limited in scope" and is the fastest to complete. The initial information was that the pilot lost control, hitting other parked aircraft and catching fire, although all four people on board escaped without injuries.

Man dies in freeway crash near Miles City

Montana Highway Patrol investigators are saying speed and drugs were factors in the weekend crash that resulted in the latest highway fatality, the death of a 41-year-old Miles City man.

Troopers say the driver was eastbound on I-94 late Saturday night when his Jeep crossed over the centerline, hitting a bridge barrier. They say the man then overcorrected, throwing the SUV into a "trip", which caused the Jeep to roll multiple times.

     He wasn't wearing a seatbelt and was thrown from the crash.