Montana
Montana 35 section closed Jan. 29 for tree removal
A section of Montana 35 south of Woods Bay will be closed for two hours on Jan. 29 while crews work to remove a dead tree along the narrow area of the road.
Travelers will need to seek alternate routes.
Flathead Electric Cooperative, the Montana Department of Transportation and the U.S. Forest Service are working together to remove the tree located near Fishing Rock Lane.
The closure is anticipated to occur from 10 a.m. to noon. Travelers will need to seek alternate routes.
Two cranes and multiple crews will assist with the tree’s removal. The closure is weather-dependent and will be rescheduled in case of high winds or plowing priorities as required by MDT. If the closure is rescheduled, the local press will be asked to share the news and MDT’s variable message signs on Montana 35, near Polson and Bigfork, will be updated. In this case, information will also be posted on FEC, MDT, and USFS websites.
The nearby Bear Dance Trail, USFS Trail #76, will also be closed in both directions on the day in question.
The tree that will be removed is over 110 feet tall and located on the east side of the road at approximately mile marker 23.
The tree, dead for many years, has significant rot around its base. Without removal, it is expected it could fall across Montana 35. Its removal will enhance safety for the traveling public, the agencies noted in a press release.
It is also highly likely that, if not removed, the tree will fall into the power lines on the west side of the highway.
Amanda Opp, FEC Integrated Services Manager, said the tree’s location above the highway makes it extremely difficult to safely remove.
“However, if it were to fall, the resulting power outage would likely be prolonged, because of the limited access we have to bring in new power poles and re-string wire,” she said in a release. “Being proactive is the right thing to do for the public, and greatly decreases the risk of the tree falling into the wires and sparking a wildfire.”
The tree is home to an unoccupied osprey nest. Multiple biologists from federal and state agencies were consulted about the tree’s removal and approved it.
“From the start, we were sensitive to the osprey nest, and reached out to the USFS, the US Biological Station at Flathead Lake, and Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks to ensure there were no nesting osprey in the tree, and that if the tree was removed, there would be suitable options in the area for any osprey that may return in the spring,” Opp said.
Ospreys migrate seasonally and are not expected to return to Northwest Montana until April. The tree’s removal is not expected to impact the birds. However, the nest will be inspected again on the day of the removal.
A brief power outage may occur during the road closure. Co-op members can receive updates at the online Outage Center at www.flatheadelectric.com.
The public is encouraged to contact Joan Redeen at 406-396-1978 with any questions or comments regarding the road closure. Motorists can stay informed about road status on the day in question by visiting 511mt.net or downloading the MDT 511 app on their phone.
Montana
Escobar, Jayapal, Members of Congress Call on Camp East Montana to be Shut Down – Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal
(Washington, D.C.) – Today, Congresswoman Veronica Escobar (TX-16) – joined by Representative Pramila Jayapal, the Ranking Member of the Immigration Integrity, Security, and Enforcement Subcommittee, and 22 other Members of Congress – sent a letter to Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Acting Director Todd Lyons calling for the immediate closure of Camp East Montana in El Paso. They cite urgent humanitarian concerns following multiple deaths in custody, documented unsafe conditions, and serious deficiencies in medical care.
This marks the fourth letter Congresswoman Escobar has sent to DHS and ICE leadership. The previous three letters have gone unanswered.
The letter can be found in its entirety below and here.
“Secretary Noem and Acting Director Lyons:
We are urgently calling on the Department of Homeland Security (DHS or the Department) and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to shut down Camp East Montana in El Paso, Texas.
Camp East Montana has been operational for six months, and at least three people have died at the site since December 2025: Francisco Gaspar-Andres, Geraldo Lunas Campos, and Victor Manuel Diaz. The El Paso County Medical Examiner has officially ruled Lunas Campos’ death a homicide, citing “asphyxia due to neck and torso compression.”
Camp East Montana was constructed in a matter of weeks and opened before construction was complete and it does not have enough federal staff on-site to provide adequate oversight. Over the last several months, Congresswoman Veronica Escobar, in whose district this facility is located, has sent multiple letters to DHS and ICE regarding concerns about the conditions at Camp East Montana, and has received no responses.
According to detainees, there have been constant and consistent problems at the facility since it opened, beginning with the facility’s poor construction and poor ambient temperature control. Upon opening, the drinking water at Camp East Montana tasted foul and made some detainees sick. Detainees continue to be served inadequate meals, including food that is rotten or frozen; last fall, the facility was also consistently failing to make dietary accommodations for detainees. Detainees have shared that they have sporadic access to outside spaces and recreational areas, and that their dormitory pods are cleaned only once every eight days, despite pods housing up to 72 people at a time. Laundry services are not consistent, and people are washing their clothes in the facility showers. Additionally, the facility experiences flooding and sewage backups when it rains, leading to stagnant water.
One of the biggest concerns with the Camp East Montana facility is the inadequate medical care being provided to detainees. Our offices have heard that only the most ill detainees are referred to the medical unit and that there are inconsistencies as to how soon after arriving detainees are able to undergo initial medical screenings. Detainees with chronic health issues who rely on regimented medications for their health have had difficulty accessing necessary medications, including blood pressure medication and insulin.
At least one of the deaths that occurred in ICE custody, the death of Francisco Gaspar-Andres, appears to partially be the result of poor medical care by staff at the facility. According to ICE’s own account, Gaspar-Andres sought medical attention from facility staff for increasingly serious symptoms, but was only transferred to an area hospital once his condition had severely deteriorated.
In addition to our concerns about poor medical care, we are also aware that detainees have experienced irregular access to their legal counsel, including instances of detainees having only two minutes allotted per phone call every 8 days, which is contrary to ICE’s Detention Standards on access to counsel, and that the belatedly created law library lacks adequate resources for the amount of people currently held at the facility. In January 2026, ICE announced the on-site death of Geraldo Lunas Campos “after experiencing medical distress.” ICE opened an investigation into the death, but did not provide a cause of death. However, The Washington Post later reported that another man detained at Camp East Montana had witnessed guards choking Lunas Campos when he refused to enter a segregated housing unit. Weeks later, the El Paso County Medical Examiner ruled that Lunas Campos had experienced “asphyxia due to neck and torso compression” and ruled his death a homicide.
Lunas Campos is the first detainee to die at Camp East Montana as a result of a use-of-force incident, but we are strongly concerned that he will not be the last if ICE is allowed to continue operating Camp East Montana.
ICE was given $45 billion in taxpayer dollars in the reconciliation bill, $1.2 billion of which were awarded to Acquisition Logistics, LLC, a company with no previous experience managing immigration detention facilities, to build and oversee Camp East Montana. However, in the wake of three deaths in custody so far, continued concerns about conditions at the facility, and ICE’s apparent disinterest in responding to oversight letters from Congress, we do not believe Camp East Montana is being run professionally or responsibly.
Camp East Montana must be shut down. For the safety of everyone at the facility, for an end to abuses to detainees, and for fiscal responsibility to the American people, the site cannot continue to operate. We are calling on DHS and ICE to move to immediately close operations at Camp East Montana.
We look forward to hearing from the Department promptly on this matter.
The other co-signers include Representatives Yassamin Ansari, Nanette Barragán, Yvette Clarke, Lloyd Doggett, Maxwell Frost, Jesús “Chuy” García, Sylvia Garcia, Daniel Goldman, Jimmy Gomez, Henry Johnson, Stephen Lynch, Seth Moulton, Eleanor Holmes Norton, Delia Ramirez, Andrea Salinas, Janice Schakowsky, Darren Soto, Rashida Tlaib, Paul Tonko, Lauren Underwood, Gabe Vasquez, and Nydia Velázquez.
Issues: Immigration
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