Montana
WARNING: Really Powerful Winds To Rock Western Montana Tuesday
Montana travelers need to stay on their toes through Wednesday morning for very strong winds for most of western half of the state. Gusts up to 65 mph will be a hazard for dozens of counties.
Montana towns and rural areas alike will be affected by these gusty winds all day Tuesday and into Wednesday morning. Towing will be more dangerous and there’s a very good chance of debris or branches on roadways.
- A HIGH WIND WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT FROM TUESDAY MORNING THROUGH WEDNESDAY MORNING.
- WHAT…West winds 25 to 35 mph with gusts up to 60 mph possible.
- WHERE…Big Belt, Bridger and Castle Mountains, Gates of the Mountains, and Helena Valley.
- WHEN…From Tuesday morning through Wednesday morning.
- IMPACTS…Tree damage and isolated power outages are possible given the emergence of foliage.
- Strong crosswinds will cause difficult travel for drivers of high profile vehicles or those towing trailers.
- High winds may move loose debris and damage property.
- ADDITIONAL DETAILS…The most widespread and intense winds are most likely to occur Tuesday afternoon and evening; however, periods of high winds outside of this timeframe are also expected.
Northern Montana will be extremely windy. Extra caution should be used and giving other vehicles plenty of room is a good idea. Expect semi trucks to swerve in the wind. Gusty crosswinds could develop suddenly.
- HIGH WIND WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT FROM 9 AM TUESDAY TO NOON MDT WEDNESDAY.
- WHAT…West winds 30 to 40 mph with gusts up to 60 mph expected.
- WHERE…Eastern Toole and Liberty Counties, Eastern Pondera and Eastern Teton Counties, Hill County, Northern Blaine County, and Western and Central Chouteau County.
- WHEN…From 9 AM Tuesday to noon Wednesday.
- IMPACTS…High winds may move loose debris, damage property and cause power outages.
- Travel could be difficult, especially for high profile vehicles.
- PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS… People are urged to secure loose objects that could be blown around or damaged by the wind.
- HIGH WIND WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT FROM 6 PM MONDAY EVENING TO NOON WEDNESDAY.
- WHAT…West winds 30 to 40 mph with gusts up to 65 mph expected.
- WHERE…Bears Paw Mountains and Southern Blaine County, Cascade County below 5000ft, Judith Basin County and Judith Gap, and Fergus County below 4500ft.
- WHEN…From 6 PM Monday evening to noon Wednesday.
- IMPACTS…Tree damage and isolated power outages are expected given the emergence of foliage.
- Strong crosswinds will cause difficult travel for drivers of high profile vehicles or those towing trailers. High winds may move loose debris and damage property.
- ADDITIONAL DETAILS…The most widespread and intense winds are most likely to occur Tuesday afternoon and evening; however, periods of high winds outside of this timeframe are also expected.
Best Groups for Montana Foraging and Mushroom Hunting
If you love gathering fresh and wild edibles, these are the best online resources to learn the basics or share your expertise. Foraging is a labor of love for special food, and it requires important knowledge along with lots of patience. Check these out!
Gallery Credit: mwolfe
Top 5 RV Parks in Montana
When you need more than just a campground, you might need an RV park! Especially if you like to travel the country in a proper Recreational Vehicle, you need to know where to find good places to park for a few days. Montana is home to some very fine RV parks. Here are some of the best that Montana has to offer when you’re on the road.
Gallery Credit: mwolfe
32 Interesting Photos of Montana’s Fantastic Dive Bars
Let’s take a simple tour through Montana’s towns, big and small. We’re on a quest to catch the vibe of Montana’s best dive bars – what they look like and where you’ll find them.
Gallery Credit: mwolfe
Montana
February 26 recap: Missoula and Western Montana news you may have missed today
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
Montana
Governor’s energy task force continues public discussions on data centers
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