Montana's lack of snowfall and our dangerously low snowpack levels are becoming the stuff of fire season nightmares. As the winter weeks go by, our 'percentages of normal' keep ticking lower - and that's not good news for this summer.
Literally every single county in Montana is under a Heat Advisory, a Red Flag Fire Weather Warning or both for on Wednesday. It's hot, dry and dangerous.
Currently, China and India have cleaner air than we do. Wildfire smoke got serious this weekend and Montana has some of the worst air quality on the entire planet right now when it comes to particulate matter. It's unhealthy in dozens of locations across the state.
Very dangerous wildfire conditions exist across the entire state, and this weekend will see record temperatures, erratic winds and dangerously low humidity. Existing wildfires will be difficult to contain and lightning could easily start new fires.
One of southwest Montana's most beautiful places is on fire. The fire has doubled in size in the last 24 hours. More than 2,200 acres between Hidden Lake and Cliff lake are burning with the cause still unknown. The whole area of Cliff Lake, Wade Lake and Hidden Lake are now closed to the public.
The 'Robertson Draw' fire that started Sunday, June 13th is located approximately 7 miles south of Red Lodge. As of Wednesday, July 7th the fire is 65-69% contained at nearly 30,000 acres.