Montana
Destructive wildfire in southeastern Montana forces evacuations and claims land
BIRNEY — The Remington fire has taken over southeastern Montana, and as of Sunday afternoon, has burned over 196,000 acres and is at 0% containment, according to MT Fire Info.
The fire first began in Wyoming on Thursday but quickly crossed the Montana-Wyoming border spreading rapidly, affecting Rosebud, Powder River, and Big Horn counties.
Pre-evacuation orders are in place for residences on Tongue River Road between Ashland and Birney, the town of Birney, East-Fork Hanging Woman Road to the Rosebud county line and Odell Creek Road to Ashland. Tribal resources were staged at the Birney Community Hall throughout the night to help fight the fire. By Saturday morning, due to backburning efforts, Birney residents were allowed to safely return home, according to the Northern Cheyenne Incident Command.
Steve Bourne
“If it had kept going and if the [fire fighters] hadn’t been back, Birney itself as a town would not be there,” said Birney resident Laurel Fjell. “It’s a rude awakening.”
The Rosebud County Sheriff’s Office posted on Facebook that the fire was being successfully managed by multiple crews throughout Saturday, but that people should still be on the lookout in the area for hazardous situations.
The Remington fire has affected rural communities and ranchers in the area. Many have seen a loss of land, fencing, structures, and livestock.
“It’s kind of a regular thing. Every year we have at least one to two big giant fires that kind of spooks everybody. For the years that I’ve lived here, this is probably the worst one that I’ve seen,” said Birney rancher Jacob Knoblock.
Those who live in the area are usually prepared to jump into action when fires occur. Knoblock said that he and his family have water tanks and sprayers on their trucks to help fight fires.
“We set up a plan to help start back burning over there to make sure it doesn’t jump the road and go into our permits,” said Knoblock.
Knoblock and his neighbors lost a significant amount of cattle initially but are still in the process of relocating them. He also said that while they are lucky the fire missed their house, they still lost almost 1,000 acres of land.
Isabel Spartz/MTN News
“Grazing land. That’s kind of all that’s really burned up. Our hay fields are okay, so that’s always good, but just fencing. I have to go through and fix fences again,” said Knoblock.
Others in the town of Birney also attempted to fight the fire but were worried about the uncertainty and severity of the burn.
“I’ve been fighting fires for over 60 years here, and this is way the worst that I’ve ever seen,” said resident Butch Fjell.
For the Fjell family, the fire was dangerously close to their surrounding neighbors’ houses in Birney. They came to help the backburning efforts near Hanging Woman Creek, but that situation turned into a close call when a tree exploded near them.
“I was in the crossfire. The heat was so enormous that it blistered my knees and my right hand has blisters on it and my ear,” said Laurel Fjell. “To me, it was a close-to-death experience. I’d never ever experienced anything like that before.”
Fjell suffered major burns but was able to treat them. Her grandson, Grayson Fjell, witnessed the fire and jumped into action to make sure she was alright.
“I was in the fire truck on that tree blew up and she was outside and so I didn’t know really what to do,” said Grayson. “I burnt a little bit on my finger and my elbow because I tried to go out the door, but all that heat just on that metal was scorching hot. It was pretty scary for having her outside the pick-up.”
Laurel Fjell
Lots in the community have come together to offer assistance and help. In Lame Deer, the Boys and Girls Club of the Northern Cheyenne Nation has been established as a shelter for those needing a safe place to go.
“Last night, we did have eight people here and we currently have a capacity of 20 but can expand quite quickly,” said Emma Harris, the Boys and Girls accountant.
The shelters were open to those evacuating from Ashland, as fire crews were worried the fire was heading in that direction. For now, the community is safe, but those pre-evacuation orders are still in effect.
“People are scheduled to be here all through the night in case that situation becomes a little bit more unsafe and people need to be evacuated,” said Harris.
The fire has the potential to spread, but the assistance from many firefighters all over the area hopes to stop it.
“It has given me an enormous respect for all these firefighters that are risking their life every day and our local firefighters,” said Laurel.
MISSOULA, Mont. — The Clark Fork River has long been a defining feature of Missoula, shaping the city’s culture, economy and outdoor lifestyle.
The river is so closely tied to the area that it helped inspire the well-known book and film “A River Runs Through It.” But local conservation advocates say its importance goes far beyond scenery.
“Without the Clark Fork River, Missoula would just be another town,” said Lisa Ronald, Northern Rockies associate conservation director for American Rivers. “We wouldn’t be the River City. I think we’re known in Montana as Missoula the River City, and it’s really because of the Clark Fork River and its central role in business, in economics, in recreation, that really makes Missoula the town that it is.”
Carmen Murill, a field organizer with Wild Montana, said the river is deeply woven into daily life for people who live in Missoula.
“A lot of us would wonder what to do on a beautiful or a rainy summer day,” Murill said. “I mean, it’s really a lifeforce of town. And I think it’s pretty unique that Missoula, as a community is living and breathing on both sides of the river. It’s really like two downtowns but connected by the Clark Fork.”
Conservation groups say protecting the river begins with community involvement.
Advocates encourage residents and visitors to spend time outdoors, whether on a trail, in the woods or along the river, and to learn how they can become better stewards of the environment.
MISSOULA — Sam Forstag edged out Ryan Busse to secure the Democratic nomination in Montana’s 1st Congressional District.
Busse conceded the race to Forstag on Wednesday morning. Forstag had trailed behind Busse Tuesday evening, but he made up ground as the votes were counted into the early hours of Wednesday morning. The other two candidates in the race, Russl Cleveland and Matt Rains, are sitting at third and fourth, respectively.
Forstag leads in close race for Montana’s 1st Congressional District
Forstag spent eight years as a wildland firefighter, including four as a smokejumper, and he’s been vice president of the local National Federation of Federal Employees union. Last week, U.S. House of Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-New York, held a rally in Missoula to support Forstag’s campaign.
He told MTN on Tuesday that his campaign has been for the working class.
“We got a whole lot of people here that have been working their tail off to finally get some working-class representation in Washington,” Forstag noted. “So proud of everything we’ve done and so grateful.”
Forstag further noted he wants Montanans to be able to afford groceries, have universal free childcare and restore and expand Affordable Health Care Act subsidies.
“Hearing people’s stories and struggles and commonalities in the ways that we’re all fighting in the system that does not serve us so often, and the government serves corporations and the richest people in this country more than working people. It has been frustrating and saddening, but it has also inspired so much hope in me, like the fixes we can actually make,” he told MTN.
The 1st Congressional District covers much of western Montana, including Kalispell, Missoula, Butte and Bozeman. It is currently held by Rep. Ryan Zinke, R-Montana, who chose not to seek reelection.
By securing the nomination, Forstag is slated tol face off against Libertarian candidate Nick Sheedy and Republican candidate Aaron Flint in November.
Brian Miller won the Democratic primary Tuesday for the U.S. House seat in Montana’s eastern district.
The Associated Press called the race for Miller, an attorney in Helena, who fended off a challenge from state Sen. Jonathan Windy Boy, a longtime legislator from Box Elder, and Sam Lux, a farrier from Great Falls.
In the Republican and rural eastern district, any Democrat will be an underdog, and Miller will face off against incumbent Republican U.S. Rep. Troy Downing, who was unopposed Tuesday.
Libertarian Patrick McCracken is also running.
In the primary, Miller took 58% of the vote. Lux took 27% and Windy Boy took 16%, according to the Montana Secretary of State’s website.
In April, Windy Boy paused his campaign amid “serious sexual abuse” allegations raised by the Montana Democratic Party — but Windy Boy restarted his campaign and later called the allegations “political attacks.”
Miller is representing the victim of the alleged abuse and her mother, although he said he didn’t take on the role until after Windy Boy initially suspended his campaign.
-
Detroit, MI17 minutes agoFired Detroit TV anchor Taryn Asher files sex discrimination lawsuit against old station, claims new GM protected men
-
San Francisco, CA27 minutes agoSan Francisco family devastated as they face nearly 90% rent increase
-
Dallas, TX32 minutes agoWings’ top pick Azzi Fudd hosts clinic as Cash App donates to Dallas nonprofit
-
Miami, FL39 minutes agoPatients left scrambling for care after Miami-Dade woman accused of operating an unlicensed surgery recovery center
-
Boston, MA42 minutes agoClover plans to reopen some locations after sudden closure, thanks to an anonymous investor
-
Denver, CO47 minutes agoNew report finds Denver metro home buyers and sellers experiencing ‘unattainability fatigue’
-
Seattle, WA54 minutes agoSeattle mayor grilled over public safety, affordability, CCTV
-
San Diego, CA57 minutes agoAutomated license plate readers and public surveillance cameras are coming to Imperial Beach
