Montana Fire Update

It’s September, and it was an especially dry summer. That means that in the west, there is only one appropriate topic of conversation. Wildfires. They’re kind of hard to miss. Northwestern Montana has some of the worst fires, but Southwest Montana has its fair share. At the moment, there are about nine fires in Southwest Montana. The two largest are the Meyers Fire (56,333 acres) south of Phillipsburg and the Alice Creek Fire (22,146 acres) north of Lincoln. Despite the sheer number of fires in the state, only around 0.6% of Montana is actually on fire.

This means that there is still a great deal of activities, even outdoor activities, that you can still enjoy all across the state. Even so, you will want to be aware, and keep informed. To help you do just that, here are some links that you might find helpful.

Montana Office of Tourism is keeping this page updated with the latest fire information, and how the fires might impact travel.

The State website also has a page with links to all the relevant departments (including restrictions, rules, and closures).

For general fire news, I’d suggest NBC Montana and MTPR.

If you want more detailed information about specific fires, the National Wildfire Coordinating Group has a great searchable website (where you can find info about every fire in the US). The fires impacting Southwest Montana will be in the Beaverhead-Deerlodge and Helena National Forest Sections.

Bottom line, its still a great time to visit Montana, but stay safe, don’t start any fires, and have fun!