Montana

Montana ranchers urge for state help following Remington fire damage

Published

1 year ago

September 7, 2024

Montana ranchers urge for state help following Remington fire damage

BROADUS — Gov. Greg Gianforte held a roundtable on Thursday with local officials to discuss fire-relief steps.

In attendance at the Broadus Community Center were several federal and county officials, Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation (DNRC), the Montana Stockgrowers Association, and tribal representatives to present fire information and resources to the governor.

Raylee Honeycutt is the executive vice president of the stockgrowers association and was one of the speakers at the table.

Justin McKinsey/MTN News

Raylee Honeycutt sits with Gov. Greg Gianforte at Thursday’s roundtable meeting in Broadus.

“(Gianforte) is great at showing up and really being a listening ear and trying to find solutions for those local needs,” said Honeycutt. “I’m excited to be a part of the conversation and be able to offer solutions and work with the governor hand in hand on supporting locals.”

She and the other attendees hoped to provide as many places for affected ranchers to find help. Money has been raised to assist them, but they now need a place to go.

“The key takeaway from this meeting was to kind of have a one-stop shop for people affected to go to and find resources,” said Honeycutt. “Over the next couple days, we’ll be building out our website and providing those resources available for everybody to kind of connect to federal agencies, local partners, local agencies as well to help them recover as quickly as possible.”

Honeycutt encourages all who were affected to report their losses in livestock, hay, and land. The numbers reported will also assist in determining if a disaster declaration would be filled, something the officials asked for assistance with from Gianforte.

Also in attendance were ranchers that were affected by the devastating Remington Fire. While the fire is at 88% containment, the damages have been severe.

gianforte3_2.17.1.jpg — Over a dozen county and federal officials met with Gianforte at the Broadus Community Center.

“The fire pretty much got it all. Right now we’re at 105 miles of fence that’s burned up,” said rancher Jae Notti, who attended the roundtable. “We lost our shop, 40 by 60 shop. Everything. Had 39 years of my tools and pieces and parts.”

Notti said he was glad he attended Thursday’s meeting as the help will be much needed in the long recovery.

“That’s going to be a long-term fix and a major expense. We usually take care of ourselves, but this is a big one. I wanted to learn more about the fences and actually thank some of these guys that have been in on this and coordinated it,” said Notti.

Gianforte made sure to highlight the community effort from all parties that helped stop the fire.

“We have a whole lot of people step up, a lot of hay, fencing stuff. It’s amazing,” said Notti.

The links below have several relief, recovery, and support resources:
Farm Service Agency Disaster Assistance Programs
USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service
Montana Department of Natural Resources
MSA Wildfire Relief Fund

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Montana

February 26 recap: Missoula and Western Montana news you may have missed today

Published

10 hours ago

February 27, 2026

Press Room

February 26 recap: Missoula and Western Montana news you may have missed today

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Montana

Escobar, Jayapal, Members of Congress Call on Camp East Montana to be Shut Down – Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal

Published

22 hours ago

February 26, 2026

Press Room

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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Montana

Governor’s energy task force continues public discussions on data centers

Published

1 day ago

February 26, 2026

Press Room

Governor’s energy task force continues public discussions on data centers

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