Environmental

Wildfire smoke has returned with a vengeance to most of Montana. Bozeman's AQI was as high as 175 on Monday morning...and that wasn't even the worst level in the state.

Ever buy frozen chicken cordon bleu for an easy dinner? Me too. CHECK YOUR FRIDGE. Several brands of these are currently being recalled by the USDA due to possible Salmonella contamination. You don't want Salmonella.

At least 10 Montana counties are still in danger on Tuesday with fire weather conditions and a Red Flag Warning until at least Tuesday night. A new wildfire started just outside of Billings on Monday afternoon. Be careful out there!

A major fire burning in the Crazy Mountains north of Livingston was started by lightning on July 17th and has burned nearly 15,000 acres. Hot, dry weather with a Red Flag Warning does not bode well for this and several other Montana fires.

Please, Mother Nature. No dry thunderstorms this afternoon. Unfortunately, there's a decent possibility of them popping up around southwest Montana today. The dangers of our continued hot weather are prompting a Red Flag Warning until at least Thursday night.

Less than 12 hours after the Gallatin Valley was drenched with good rain showers, we're back to Air Quality Index numbers in the 120s and 130s. Ugh. Monday afternoon and night were soggy, quite frankly...and now this?

Several counties in southwest Montana are expected to see much needed rain throughout Monday, however weather cells are slow moving and may produce more rain than small streams and streets can handle.

Take your pick. It's all bad. Beaverhead, Big Horn, Broadwater, Carbon, Carter, Cascade, Chouteau, Custer, Deer Lodge, Fallon, Fergus, Gallatin, Glacier, Golden Valley, Granite, Jefferson, Judith Basin, Lake, Lewis and Clark, Liberty, Madison, Meagher, Missoula, Musselshell, Park, Petroleum, Pondera, Powder River, Powell, Ravalli, Rosebud, Silver Bow, Stillwater, Sweet Grass, Teton, Treasure, Toole, Wheatland, and Yellowstone counties.

The Air Quality Index around southwest Montana was bad all weekend. Then it became even worse on Monday into seriously unhealthy levels.

When people from all over the world look for places to go on vacation or that once in a lifetime hunting or fishing trip, choosing Casper and the State of Wyoming is an easy choice.

A little rain this week was nice but not enough to significantly reduce our fire weather conditions across the state of Montana. There is a Red Flag Warning in effect until at least Friday night, and will probably be extended as temps are expected to rise over the weekend.

Yet again, most of the counties in eastern Montana are in for a painfully hot day on Thursday. An Excessive Heat Warning is in effect with temperatures expect to be as high as 103 for several towns.