Forecasters See ‘Above Normal’ Fire Danger for Montana

With warm weather returning to the Northern Rockies there's not much relief in site for firefighters, at least from the skies, with sunshine and warm temperatures now forecast to last through the weekend for most of the state.

Forecasters with the Northern Rockies Coordination Center are now expecting "above normal" fire potential for some parts of Montana through most of this month, not returning to a "normal" fire risk until October.

That's due to a combination of the warmer, drier conditions and colder nights which are allowing some of the forest fuels like brush and grass to start dying, increasing the chance of ignition.

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Fire forecasters believe that West Central, Southwest and South Central Montana will have that "above normal" fire activity for the next couple of weeks, although a return to cooler weather, with "wetting" rains could help. They say the center of the drought conditions right now are east of Missoula, extending through Southwest Montana west of the Continental Divide.

READ MORE: Missoula County Fire Danger Back to High

Is Western Montana in a drought?

There's extreme drought along the Montana-Idaho border, from the Idaho Panhandle to Dillon.

The risk is driven by ongoing drought conditions, with warmer temperatures helping to dry out forests and fields. However, the forecast says all areas of Montana should return to normal conditions by October, lasting until the seasonal rains return.

"Old fires" are also a problem

The recent fire activity in the Bitterroot shows the extent of the problem. Several fires, including the Johnson, Railroad, and Daly, which were actually started by lightning in late July, smoldered for weeks before growing rapidly in the past few days.

The Railroad Fire has burned a thousand acres, and the Daly Fire over 2000. The fires are burning at high elevation, but have forced closure of the popular Skalkaho backcountry highway.