Montana
Dual wildfires causing chaos on Montana-Wyoming border
Two major fires are threatening southeast Montana.
The Barber Draw fire sparked Wednesday just northwest of the Tongue River Reservoir and is currently at 8,000 acres in size.
The Remington fire first began in Wyoming but crossed the Montana, Wyoming border Thursday around 6 pm. As of 5:15 p.m. Friday, the fire has burned 128,771 acres. Pre-evacuation orders are still in place for the area south of Ashland to the Rosebud County Line.
The fire has crossed into three different counties: Powder River, Big Horn, and the southern end of Rosebud.
MTN News
Keith Gerber is the operations chief with Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation and said they were originally at Tongue Reservoir for the Barber Draw fire, but the Remington fire quickly took precedent.
“We have close to 120 resources up there on the line for the Barber Draw fire, from smoke jumpers to contract engines, hand crews, dozers, blades,” said Gerber. “As of now, we’re setting up camp to support both the Barber Draw incident, our original team assignment, and potentially some operational support logistics for the Remington fire.”
Photo Gallery: Remington fire burns through Wyoming and Montana
The cause of the fire was determined to be lightning due to recent storms.
“Several recent rounds of moisture have come across Montana and thrown down some very abundant lightning with rain,” said Gerber.
As the fire grows, things are not looking positive for their efforts due to hot temperatures and high winds forecasted for Saturday.
“As large as this fire is, it’s not going to go out tomorrow. We’re going to have to get boots on the ground and folks around the perimeter of the fire to make sure it’s not going to move anywhere,” said Gerber.
MTN News
The fires have affected many in the area, including the Tongue River Reservoir Marina. This is the third time they had to order evacuations this summer.
“Being our third evacuation now, the worst part of this is the rentals, because a large part of our sales comes from boat rentals and days like today when the boat ramp is closed. We’re talking a significant amount of money that we have to bring back and missed sales as well,” said Ryan Bogers, the marina’s owner.
Bogers said this has significantly impacted their business, especially when they only have 10 days of their season left. They were hoping to be able to open back up on Friday, but due to the increasing Remington fire, that was not possible.
“It’s definitely concerning, especially when you drive and see black spots along the highway,” said Bogers.
The owner even assisted the fire crews on Thursday fighting fires, who had camps set along the reservoir with multiple aircraft pulling water out of the river.
“Right now, we’re just helping the fire crews out the best we can and let them do what they need to do,” said Bogers.
Fire season has taken a toll for many, and as the fire continues to expand, the future of the season is uncertain.
“It’s going to get worse before it gets better,” said Bogers.
Additional reporting from Mack Carmack
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.
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