This story is excerpted from the MT Lowdown, a weekly newsletter digest containing original reporting and analysis published every Friday.
While much of Montana’s landscape currently features a small number of large, ongoing blazes, the state’s southeastern corner contains several new fires that grew rapidly over the last several days.
The Barber Draw Fire was first reported in Big Horn County on Wednesday and has already grown to 6,739 acres. As the blaze spreads south, Tongue River Reservoir State Park has been put under an evacuation warning, a recommendation indicating residents should be ready to evacuate, marking the park’s third evacuation notice this season.
Just across Big Horn County’s northern border, the Bull Fire now covers 700 acres in Rosebud County. Like the Barber Draw Fire, the Bull Fire was first reported on Wednesday. The Chalky Point Fire, a 500-acre blaze also on the border between Rosebud and Big Horn counties, was first reported on Thursday.
On the other side of the state, the Grouse Fire continues to burn across more than 4,000 acres in Beaverhead County. The local team managing the fire does not expect it to substantially increase in size.
The weekend forecast does not indicate substantial wildfire risk. According to the National Weather Service, Friday afternoon presents the most fire-prone period of the next few days, with high winds and afternoon storms. The next several days are expected to bring rain, high humidity and mild temperatures. Air quality, though, could decrease as smoke from Washington, Oregon, Idaho and California fires blows through southwestern Montana.
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