Smoke arrives to stay in MT

Town Crier “Briefs from the Region” (1) – 9/14/20

Nearly every western state is contributing to the hazy skies in Montana this week, and the smoke is here to stay, warns the Montana Department of Environmental Quality. After a relatively clear Saturday, smoke from fires in Idaho, Washington, Oregon, California and Montana pushed into the region and settled into valleys, blocking mountain vistas from view. Air quality is currently rated MODERATE in the Big Sky and Bozeman area, but is UNHEALTHY in Seeley Lake and Libby, and quality could quickly decrease here as well. As of Sunday, 20 large active fires had burned 174,630 acres in the Northern Rockies and nine of those large fires are burning in Montana.