Governor Bullock declared Fire Emergency for State of Montana

In the emergency declaration, Bullock said, “Montana is facing extreme fire conditions”.

The declaration allows Bullock to mobilize state resources and the Montana National Guard to combat the fires, as well as expend funds to meet the contingencies and needs that may arise from them.

Stage II fire restrictions prohibit building, maintaining, attending or using a fire, campfire or wood stove; smoking, except within an enclosed vehicle or building, a designated smoking site or while stopped in an area at least three feet in diameter that is barren or cleared of all flammable materials; and operating motorized vehicles off designated roads and trails in accordance with existing travel management plans for non-commercial purposes including ATVs, UTVs and pickups.

Near Seeley Lake, the Morrell Complex of fires has burned 380 acres in the mountains east of Lake Alva.

Two factors may help the thinly spread firefighters this week. Partially due to cooler weather on Saturday, the fire saw no significant growth over the weekend, and there was a large reduction in the amount of smoke, with no column visible on Sunday. The Forest Service is under the Department of Agriculture. A Type 2 team with 160 firefighters has the fire at 10 percent containment.

Lightning strikes have sparked a dozen new small fires in remote areas in Lewis and Clark National Forest along the Rocky Mountain Front, prompting 16 trail closures. Ninety firefighters are on the blaze, which is sitting at 75 acres in size. The fire is actively burning in the Thompson Creek and Nyack Creek drainages west of Medicine Grizzly Peak on the Continental Divide.

Fires are burning in Glacier National Park and the Beaverhead-Deerlodge, Bitterroot, Helena, Kootenai and Flathead national forests and on the Flathead Indian Reservation. It’s a high priority for fire crews because it’s threatening homes. The crew is working to build a wet line along avalanche chutes to prevent the fire from spreading further.

The other fires in the complex are Mt. Poia, which is 205 acres, and Muskrat Pass, which is five acres.

All of the backcountry campgrounds in the area are closed, as well as a series of trails including the Siyeh Pass, Red Eagle, Nyack Creek and Cutbank Pass.

Montana’s last state of fire emergency was declared in 2013.