Montana wildfires: Governor declares disaster exists in Montana

Montana forgotten by the media

Via Facebook

Pray for snow for Montana.

They are saying it is the only way to end this fire season (we know we are a long ways off from snow).

 Our govenor filed state of emergancy, July 24 and was denied the first go around. Worst fire season we have seen since 1910. Update 45 Active Fires as of last night, several uncontained. 

Over 600,000 acres lost and more predicted fires over Labor day weekend. 

We are in a drought, with no chance of precipitation. I know we don't compare to the loss of the people of Texas, Texas and this 2nd predicted hurricane. Pray for everyone involved in a natural disaster fighting to help our states and for every individual. 

Thank you to our NW neighboring States and ND for being on Stand by over Labor day weekend and to all the states currently fighting. More fires predicted to come.

Update from yesterday. http://www.ktvq.com/story/36272439/over-half-a-million-acres-lost-to-montana-wildfires-so-far-this-summer#.WanyD1n6Yeg.facebook

Our friends in Oregon are right behind at 300,000 acres burned. It doesn't matter that more acres burned here. They need just as many prayers. (Sharing this to bring awareness to MT.)

Over half a million acres lost to Montana wildfires so far this summer

Four thousand firefighters, 125 aircraft and 350 Montana National Guard troops battled 40 wildfires this summer that scorched 655,171 acres with 23 still actively consuming land statewide.

According to InciWeb, the most destructive of these was the Lolo Peak Fire which claimed two lives and burned 39,719 acres.

The Lodgepole Complex Fire was the largest of the summer coming in at 270,723 acres.

The longest burning was the Tongue River Complex. It began in early July and burned just under 29,000 acres and is still listed as active on Inciweb, the federal website for fire information.

This fire season has been compounded by a lack of rainfall. August was nearly the driest on record, creating an extremely dangerous situation.

Governor declares disaster exists in Montana

Great Falls Tribune,

1 September, 2017

HELENA -- Gov. Steve Bullock issued an executive order on Friday declaring a state of disaster exists in Montana due to wildfires. 

This action lets the governor mobilize more state resources and the Montana National Guard to combat the fires. 

Across north Idaho, Montana, North Dakota and the Yellowstone National Park area, 62 new lightning starts were reported Wednesday, and at least 40 of those were in Montana, from one end of the state to the other.

The executive order was issued along with a directive to the Montana Department of Transportation that temporarily suspends certain regulatory requirements to aid in the transport of heavy firefighting equipment.

This move lets incident commanders to move heavy equipment for a more aggressive attack on the fire.

The governor notes in the order that Montana is having one of the worst fire seasons in its history, with dozens of large fires burning across the state.

And he says that “persistent drought,” high winds and hot temperatures pose an imminent threat that new fires may start and existing fires may grow.

On Aug. 18, he issued an executive order declaring 31 of the state's 56 counties and six Indian Reservations a drought disaster: 

The fires have cost the state about $47 million with a “burn rate” of $700,000 per day,
“Over the coming days, additional National Guard resources will be mobilized to continue to support the men and women fighting these fires,” Bullock said. “Our top priority remains firefighter safety and protecting Montanans and their property.”

On Thursday the governor asked Montanans to be careful this Labor Day weekend.

“Folks, it’s this easy: Don’t start a campfire,” he said.

Bullock said people should enjoy the Labor Day weekend and have expectations, “But it’s dangerous out there.”

Bullock said 125 aircraft have been deployed as well as 400 engines 4,000 personnel and 350 Montana National Guard troops are being mobilized to fight fires. The soldiers will work on line crews and provide security.