Over the last week, firefighters centered their efforts on a number of large timber fires speckling western Montana’s backcountry. Firefighting personnel continue moving away from the Remington Fire, Montana’s largest wildfire of the season so far, as it approaches total containment across Big Horn, Rosebud and Powder River counties.
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Ravalli County hosts several large blazes. The Sharrott Creek Fire covers almost 3,000 acres three miles west of Stevensville. The blaze, considered 23% contained as of Thursday, more than doubled in size over the last week and remains the most-staffed fire in the state. On the other side of the Bitterroot Valley, the Railroad and Daly fires are burning near each other along the border between Ravalli County and Granite County, covering a combined 2,500 acres. The Johnson Fire also continues to burn more than 4,000 acres in southern Ravalli County near the Beaverhead County border.
Additionally, the Grouse Fire now covers 5,000 acres in Beaverhead County, roughly 10 miles south of Wise River. The fire was first reported on July 25 and grew rapidly over the course of the following week. By mid-August, statewide agencies had demobilized the fire camp and returned command of firefighting operations to the locality. But since the fire’s spontaneous 600-acre growth on Wednesday, Sept. 4, the blaze has continued to spread.
According to the National Weather Service offices in Missoula and Billings, the weekend forecast does not include fast winds or fire-prone levels of humidity. Even with high temperatures, fire risk remains mild. Montanans can expect hazy skies over the next few days, though, as smoke continues to enter Montana from Idaho and Canada.
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Senate hopefuls trade jabs at first all-candidate debate
Four U.S. Senate candidates — Republican Kurt Alme, Democrat Alani Bankhead, independent Seth Bodnar and Libertarian Kyle Austin — debated in Bozeman on Oct. 11, marking Alme’s first debate appearance. Alme, the frontrunner, was the target of the lion’s share of the debate’s attack lines, mostly for backing congressional Republican stances on tariffs, immigration and the war in Iran. Bankhead and Austin each took notable swings at Bodnar, primarily arguing that he is not as “independent” a candidate as he claims.
How to vote in Montana’s 2026 midterm election
On Oct. 9, local election offices mailed out absentee ballots, which account for the majority of ballots cast in Montana. Many Montanans will have their ballots in hand early next week. Many more are preparing to vote at their local polling place on Election Day, Nov. 3. However you choose to vote, you may have questions. And we have answers.
