Wildfires

The closure began around 3:30 p.m. and was lifted around 4:45 p.m. The fire is east of Homestake Pass, directly south of the rest area along the Interstate-90 at mile marker 235.

A Forest Service spokesperson describes the Haystack Fire as a late fourth-quarter push at a time when fire season is usually winding down. She says exhausted firefighters are now frequently responding to reports of abandoned campfires.

Fifty-one homes in Montana have been destroyed this fire season and nearly 900,000 acres of land in the state has been charred by wildfires.

This weekend’s resurgence of acrid wildfire smoke serves as a reminder that Montana’s wildfire season is far from over.

When a wildfire ignites in rural Montana, it’s likely a volunteer firefighter who responds. But those volunteers are aging.

Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte says he’s disappointed not to have been invited to Wednesday’s White House meeting on western wildfires, as a historic heatwave amps up fire conditions.

Montana’s hot dry conditions are prompting counties to issue fire restrictions in an effort to prevent human caused wildfires.

Last week’s helicopter crash at the Deep Creek Canyon Fire southeast of Helena was preventable, according to a new report from the Montana department in charge of the craft.

Firefighters are optimistic about their progress on the 4,600-acre Deep Creek Canyon Fire southeast of Helena.