Nature

Flathead National Forest officials are busy dealing with 18 wildfires, in addition to the three (Sheep, Granite, Spruce) that are being managed by the Incident Command Team responsible for the Thompson-Divide Complex. Most are less than 1 acre in size...

Early afternoon on August 25, 2015 a fire was reported on the Lewis & Clark National Forest's Rocky Mountain District burning approximately 1 mile west of the north end of the Benchmark Airstrip, west of Augusta. District personnel located and initial attacked the fire on the ground but had to withdraw for safety reasons when the fire activity heated up and made several runs in the crown. Su..

The community of Essex remains on evacuation alert.   Highway 2 is open. Pilot cars will run 24 hours a day, but the highway could be closed due to changing fire conditions. Expect delays of 10-15 minutes. The BNSF and Amtrak trains are running...

A public meeting for the Thompson-Divide Complex of fires (Thompson, Granite, and Sheep) is scheduled for Tuesday, August 25, 2015 at 8:00 p.m. at the Izaak Walton Hotel pavilion in Essex. Representatives from the Incident Management Team will provide information on the status of these fires and future operational plans...

Bear Creek Fire:  SIZE: 19,595 Acres   Fire crews continue to mop up hot spots in the Meadow Creek Trailhead and the Meadow Creek Outfitter’s corral.  Engines are patrolling the Gorge Creek Road #549 between Meadow Creek Trailhead and Gorge Creek Trailhead to mop up hot spots and remove hazard trees...

200+ Structures, BNSF Snow Sheds, and 1 Wooden Trestle Now Deemed At Risk Update - 3:30pm  Highway 2 CLOSED The Sheep Fire has moved to about 1 mile from the highway and the BNSF tracks. Both have been closed temporarily to allow firefighters safe access to the fire...

ESSEX RESIDENTS ADVISED TO TAKE PRECAUTIONS The Incident Management Team in charge of the Thompson Wildfire Complex held a public meeting Tuesday evening to inform residents of the Essex area about two fires that broke out over the weekend...

Ten fires are currently burning in the Rocky Mountain Ranger District on the Lewis & Clark National Forest. Three fires- Spotted Eagle, Muskrat Pass, and Mt. Poia- are the result of lightning strikes from a strong thunderstorm that passed through the area on Tuesday, August 11, and are collectively being managed as the Family Peak Wildfire Complex. ...

Fire Continues to Burn within Perimeter WEST GLACIER, MONT. – The night closure on the east side of the Going-to-the-Sun Road in Glacier National Park has been lifted. The entire 52 miles of the Going-to-the-Sun Road are open to vehicle access...

Fire Update: The Thompson Fire  is located in a remote south-central backcountry area of Glacier National Park about 15 miles east of the West Glacier entrance and 12 miles southwest of the Saint Mary entrance. The fire is burning in the Thompson Creek and Nyack Creek drainages west of Medicine Grizzly Peak where the Flathead and Glacier Counties border follows the Continental Divide...

CANADIAN FIREFIGHTERS ANSWER THE CALL Parks Canada crews responded to a report of a lighning-caused forest fire from US National Park staff at Goat Haunt, Glacier National Park.  A helicopter, which was on standby in Waterton Lakes National Park, was immediately deployed to bucket the fire...

POLSON – James “Jim” Elser, an internationally renowned freshwater ecologist, will become the next director of the University of Montana’s century-old Flathead Lake Biological Station.             UM President Royce Engstrom announced July 29 that Elser had accepted the position...