Montana News Roundup: Here’s First Look at Fire Season

Although winter precipitation has been close to normal in Montana this year, multi-year drought conditions in Western Montana may spike the early wildfire season.

That's the assessment from the first seasonal outlook of the spring from the forecasters at the Northern Rockies Coordination Center.

The April 1st report covers May, June and July and shows the impacts from the weak La Nina conditions this past winter, which didn't help much with offsetting the long drought, especially in areas like the Blackfoot Basin, which is still in "extreme drought."

Get our free mobile app

Only Texas is this dry…

In fact, the three-year totals show the area from the Bitterroot to the Kootenai-Cabinet is one of only two areas in the entire country with a deficit of just 10%.

The forecasters say the fire season looks like a "normal" threat of "significant wildfire" this year, but May and June are trending warmer and drier than normal, and that could accelerate the dry out. 🔥

RELATED: Montana Probably Won't Make Up Runoff This Spring

Is 20 years in prison enough in this Montana case?

A Lolo man will spend the next 20-years behind bars, for one count of receiving and one count of possessing child porn.

But prosecutors say 29-year-old Erik Robert Salazar's crimes are much more extensive. They say Missoula County Sheriff's Internet detectives discovered what he was up to after following a Cyber Tipline report from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.

The investigation found that Salazar's "communications were replete" with contacts with underage girls. Prosecutors say he would talk them into sending explicit images via Snapchat, and even sent those images to other teens. He pleaded guilty last fall.

Montana Measles Are Back

Gallatin County and state health officials say five people are isolating after they tested positive for measles, the first cases in Montana in 35 years. They were exposed while traveling out of state.

Roundabout confusion isn't going away soon

It looks like the way we deal with roundabouts and right-of-ways in Montana will be changing, at least for some types of traffic. Devon Brosnan shares the details: ⬇

Montana Friday Fact

🏕️ The "pandemic travel" spike was real. In 2023, nonresident visitors contributed a staggering $5.45 billion to Montana's economy, supporting over 66,000 jobs and keeping local businesses thriving, especially through the summer.