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Preparing for fire season in Montana

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Preparing for fire season in Montana


With fire season rapidly approaching, it’s important to be prepared whether you live in a city or in a rural area.

“In wildland we have a saying ‘if you own the fuel, you own the fire,’ so what we want you to do right now, I mean right now, is starting with mitigating the fuels around your house. Getting those piles of firewood from against the house, clean up underneath your decks, keep your grass cut short, or trim back, and keep it watered, if you can. That’s buying us time to help you guys out,” said Ken Hanks, assistant fire chief for Vaughn Fire.

North-central Montana saw a few showers in May, which allowed for a decent amount of precipitation, but with June being drier, the grass around central Montana is beginning to dry out.

Lead meteorologist for the National Weather Service in Great Falls, Jim Brusda, said Great Falls is currently listed as abnormally dry for this time of year.

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There are several things we can do to help prevent fires including practicing safe outdoor cooking, following city and county burn ordinances, and having safe backyard campfires at least 15 feet away from homes.



“Going into summer, we have had a kind of a relatively wet spring, which means a lot of the fuels, lightweight fuels, meaning grasses, shrubs and those types of things in town and surrounding town; they grew very well, now they’re drying out at a rapid pace, so they’re going to be fire ready. One hot day is all it takes and everything’s ready to burn,” said Bob Shupe, assistant fire chief for Great Falls Fire Rescue.

The grass around central Montana is drying out and with dryer, warmer, and windier conditions, fires are more likely as we go into July.

“To prevent a big wildfire season, we need rainfall over the next few weeks. We do have a weather system coming in next week that has potential to give us some rain, but we need a good half of an inch to even up to an inch and a half of rain to make a difference, to have a good impact on our fire season that’s been coming up,” Brusda added.

Click here for more information on current drought conditions.

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Montana Lottery Powerball, Lotto America results for May 13, 2026

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The Montana Lottery offers multiple draw games for those aiming to win big.

Here’s a look at May 13, 2026, results for each game:

Winning Powerball numbers from May 13 drawing

22-31-52-56-67, Powerball: 15, Power Play: 2

Check Powerball payouts and previous drawings here.

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Winning Lotto America numbers from May 13 drawing

17-18-28-37-42, Star Ball: 04, ASB: 02

Check Lotto America payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Big Sky Bonus numbers from May 13 drawing

02-06-10-16, Bonus: 16

Check Big Sky Bonus payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Powerball Double Play numbers from May 13 drawing

08-13-39-63-66, Powerball: 02

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Check Powerball Double Play payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Montana Cash numbers from May 13 drawing

02-04-13-17-32

Check Montana Cash payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Millionaire for Life numbers from May 13 drawing

21-24-29-42-49, Bonus: 01

Check Millionaire for Life payouts and previous drawings here.

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Feeling lucky? Explore the latest lottery news & results

When are the Montana Lottery drawings held?

  • Powerball: 8:59 p.m. MT on Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday.
  • Mega Millions: 9 p.m. MT on Tuesday and Friday.
  • Lucky For Life: 8:38 p.m. MT daily.
  • Lotto America: 9 p.m. MT on Monday, Wednesday and Saturday.
  • Big Sky Bonus: 7:30 p.m. MT daily.
  • Powerball Double Play: 8:59 p.m. MT on Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday.
  • Montana Cash: 8 p.m. MT on Wednesday and Saturday.
  • Millionaire for Life: 9:15 p.m. MT daily.

Missed a draw? Peek at the past week’s winning numbers.

This results page was generated automatically using information from TinBu and a template written and reviewed by a Great Falls Tribune editor. You can send feedback using this form.



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Public Meeting at Hub on Smith Concerning Montana Water Call Prompting Priority Administration in Tongue Basin

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Public Meeting at Hub on Smith Concerning Montana Water Call Prompting Priority Administration in Tongue Basin


Wyoming State Engineer Brandon Gebhart announced that on May 5, 2026, the State of Montana placed a call under Article V(A) of the Yellowstone River Compact to fill Tongue River Reservoir in Montana. As a result, priority administration is in effect on post-1950 water rights in Wyoming that divert water from the Tongue River and its tributaries and are not excluded from the compact.

A public meeting will be held from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. Monday, May 18, in the dining room of The Hub on Smith. Attendees are asked to enter on the north side of the building.

The Tongue River Basin has been experiencing drought conditions over the past year with historically low winter snowpack and streamflow conditions. According to the release, those conditions led to Montana’s interstate call and prompted the administration of the Tongue River Basin in Wyoming.

The priority administration will affect post-1950 water rights within the Tongue River Basin, including reservoir storage, stream diversions and groundwater withdrawals, all of which affect river flows. Post-1950 water rights will be regulated off or prevented from turning on. Wyoming hydrographer-commissioners will continue to administer reservoir storage and post-1950 diversions throughout the spring and work with affected water users until the administration is lifted.

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As provided in the compact, domestic uses less than one-half acre in area and livestock uses, including stock reservoirs less than 20 acre-feet in capacity, are excluded from this administration. The release noted these excluded rights could be subject to future regulation to satisfy priority calls by senior Wyoming water rights.

Beginning May 5, 2026, Wyoming hydrographer-commissioners have worked to record the current storage levels of reservoirs with post-1950 water rights. Going forward, those reservoirs can continue to accrue storage so long as post-1950 storage gained after the interstate call on May 5 remains in storage until either the water is released to satisfy the Montana call or Montana lifts the call because Tongue River Reservoir will fill.

Reservoirs with unfulfilled pre-1950 water rights can continue to store water and that storage will not be subject to release to satisfy Montana’s call. However, that storage and other direct flow rights could be subject to regulation to satisfy priority calls by senior Wyoming water rights.

The priority administration will be carried out pursuant to state law by hydrographer-commissioners assigned to various portions of the Tongue River Basin, working under the direction of Division II Superintendent David Schroeder.

The Wyoming State Engineer’s Office can be contacted at:

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Jack Morey, deputy state engineer, 307-777-5032, jack.morey2@wyo.gov

David Schroeder, Division II superintendent, 307-674-7012, d.schroeder@wyo.gov

Jeff Cowley, interstate streams administrator, 307-777-1942, jeff.cowley@wyo.gov




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Montana Lottery Mega Millions, Big Sky Bonus results for May 12, 2026

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The Montana Lottery offers multiple draw games for those aiming to win big.

Here’s a look at May 12, 2026, results for each game:

Winning Mega Millions numbers from May 12 drawing

17-32-35-40-47, Mega Ball: 17

Check Mega Millions payouts and previous drawings here.

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Winning Big Sky Bonus numbers from May 12 drawing

04-12-17-24, Bonus: 11

Check Big Sky Bonus payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Millionaire for Life numbers from May 12 drawing

19-21-35-38-53, Bonus: 01

Check Millionaire for Life payouts and previous drawings here.

Feeling lucky? Explore the latest lottery news & results

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When are the Montana Lottery drawings held?

  • Powerball: 8:59 p.m. MT on Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday.
  • Mega Millions: 9 p.m. MT on Tuesday and Friday.
  • Lucky For Life: 8:38 p.m. MT daily.
  • Lotto America: 9 p.m. MT on Monday, Wednesday and Saturday.
  • Big Sky Bonus: 7:30 p.m. MT daily.
  • Powerball Double Play: 8:59 p.m. MT on Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday.
  • Montana Cash: 8 p.m. MT on Wednesday and Saturday.
  • Millionaire for Life: 9:15 p.m. MT daily.

Missed a draw? Peek at the past week’s winning numbers.

This results page was generated automatically using information from TinBu and a template written and reviewed by a Great Falls Tribune editor. You can send feedback using this form.



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