BILLINGS — The third try was the charm for Hayley Burns.

The Bozeman graduate and Northern Arizona runner finally broke through in the Montana Mile, picking up her first career victory Friday to kick off the 2024 Big Sky State Games.

“It feels really good,” Burns said. “I think my first year was last and was pretty tough. The next year I came back and was like, I want to try and win, but it was pretty tough in the middle of summer training. I did what I could and that’s the same mindset this year. Just see where I’m at. Cross (country season) is what matters, but I wanted to do my best and see what I could do.”

Burns said she hasn’t necessarily been training for races as short as the Montana Mile, as she’s running upwards of 70 miles per week with a strong emphasis on her cross country season.

She had some external motivation alongside her, though, as teammate and Helena alum Odessa Zentz kept pace with Burns nearly step for step.

“I think we’re mainly keeping each other loose, enjoying each other’s company and not getting so nervous for the race,” Burns said. “It’s nice having someone to warm up with instead of being alone. You both know the drill. You are both doing it. It’s support even though we’re both doing our own thing.”

Burns gives some credit for her performance to the training she does down in Flagstaff, Arizona, which sits nearly 7,000 feet above sea level and is a hotbed for high-level runners.

“There’s definitely benefits. It’s not something you feel, it’s something you see in time,” she said. “They say it’s similar to blood doping, but you don’t know unless you see a faster time. It feels the same. It hurts either way.”

Burns now hopes to carry some of this momentum forward into Northern Arizona’s cross country season, which begins in August.

BURLINGTON, Vt. (WCAX) – New York Forest Rangers have been deployed to help fight fires out west.

A team of 20 Department of Environmental Conservation fire responders was sent to assist with containing wildfires raging in Montana.

One member of the Forest Rangers was also sent to a fire suppression crew in Oregon.

New York often sends teams to other states to fight fires. With 75 active wildfires burning more than 64,000 acres, the team of 20 aims to prevent any new fires from starting.

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A combination of fresh fire starts, and smoke pouring into the Northern Rockies from other states, is pushing air quality to some of the worst levels we’ve seen so far this summer.

While a change in the weather later this week, expected as high pressure shifts east, could bring winds to help clear skies, it’s also increasing the potential for “fire weather”, and problematic winds.

Conditions deteriorated to the point Monday, that the Montana Department of Environmental Quality issued an air quality alert for much of the state.

Missoula County Orders Evacuations for New Fire Start

New, smaller fires join the list of blazes in Montana

Air quality was already marginal over the weekend, but dropped in the Missoula area Monday morning with the outbreak of the new Butler Creek Fire.

Although largely a fast-moving fire because it involved grasslands, the new blaze forced evacuations, and had torched over 200 acres by last morning. That created more smoke which dropped air quality at most Missoula stations to “unhealthy for sensitive groups”, with a few registering “unhealthy” air for all residences.

Bad air statewide

By Monday afternoon, air quality had not improved. DEQ stations in Missoula, Frenchtown, and Hamilton were showing air “unhealthy for sensitive groups.” Other locations in Kalispell, and Northwest Montana had haze, but air quality remained “moderate.”

East of the Divide, Cutback, Chateau, and Helena had warnings of air being “unhealthy for sensitive groups.” The worst air in the state is in the Great Falls area, and a few locations in the Helena Valley, where readings had hit “unhealthy”. That’s where the warnings apply to all people to limit their time outdoors and avoid exertion.

READ MORE; Fire Smoke Keeps Missoula on “Most Polluted Cities” List

Regional fire smoke not helping

EPA maps are showing smoke plumes coming into Montana from not only the fires burning in British Columbia, the Cascades, Eastern Washington, and Oregon but also from Alberta.