The U.S. Bureau of Land Management’s only Montana-based firefighting crew of military veterans held a training outside of Billings a few weeks before they set off for Nevada.

More than 50 fires were burning in the state as of Friday afternoon, including eight started in the last 24 hours.

The Tri-Lakes Volunteer Fire Department says two fires broke out Thursday afternoon northeast of Helena.

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’s cool, wet spring and early summer are on the cusp of giving way to hotter and drier conditions.

Many forest ecologists say the U.S. Forest Service is hampered by an outdated approach to prescribed fires, a key tool for reducing the threat of megafires made worse by climate change.

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.

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.