Wildfires Burning All Around Montana & Smoke is Back

While fires are erupting all around us, Montana continues to be fairly quiet on the fire front, although local fire crews have been actively attacking all the small blazes that popped over the past couple of days.

Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation reports there were 12 new fires through Monday evening, but no active, larger fires.

8 additional fire starts Sunday, following 13 fires through Saturday. But DNRC reports there are no active large fires, although there were 125 fire starts in the past week.

Most of the fires have been 10-acres of less, although DNRC was reporting a new blaze… the New Hope fire incident southeast of Chinook that had burned over 200 acres in open country, with no structures threatened.

Fire weather this week

Our weather this week could be problematic for fire starts too. Winds could come with a passing cold front out of Canada, and there's still a monsoonal push underway, which could set off more thunderstorms, with lightning through mid-week. We're also seeing more regional fire smoke that started to push into the state over the weekend.

And while the heat will moderate somewhat the next couple of days, it's looking like another spike is coming toward the end of the week.

Ellsworth Trial continues

The criminal trial of former Montana Senate President Jason Ellsworth resumes in Helena.

Ellsworth, a Republican from Hamilton, is facing a misdemeanor charge of official misconduct for allegedly attempting to steer a $170,000 state contract to a friend without a proper public bidding process.

During the first week of testimony at the Lewis and Clark County District Court, prosecution witnesses, including Department of Administration Director Misty Ann Giles and Governor’s Budget Director Ryan Osmundson, testified that the contracting process bypassed standard oversight and was completed without legislative approval. Defense counsel has argued that Ellsworth, as Senate president, was not personally responsible for ensuring procurement compliance.

     If convicted, Ellsworth faces up to six months in jail and a $500 fine.

According to reporting from the Montana Free Press, attorneys from both sides expect the case to go to the jury early this week.

Elderly man with glasses using a laptop

Older Montanans continue to work

Montana’s overall labor force participation rate has taken a hit in recent decades, even though residents in specific age brackets are working or looking for work just as much—or more—than they used to.

     📊 According to a new report from the Legislative Fiscal Division, the main driver is demographic: an increasing share of residents aged 65 and older.

While about 86% of prime working-age Montanans between 25 and 54 are part of the labor force, retirement-age residents make up about 20%.

State fiscal analysts note that even though the share of working seniors has jumped by about five percentage points since 1996, the growing senior population overall continues to pull down the state's aggregate participation rate.