As temperatures rise and humidities drop, fire management officials are starting to get nervous abut fire conditions in Western Montana . . .
Western Montana seems to have misplaced its ticket to the bonfire season that’s torching the eastern half of the state, but fire officials remain braced for trouble over the Fourth of July week.
“We certainly came out of the chute pretty quick this year,” said Paula Short at the state Department of Natural Resources on Friday. “At least we’ve got all our large fires staffed with incident management teams now. With this early start, we’re expecting above-average temperatures and below-average humidity in the southeast and all along the bottom of the state.”