36 new wildfires flare up across state

Wildfire activity in the Flathead Valley remains quiet while the fire season has picked up in the rest of Montana.

So far fires have burned about 48,000 acres statewide this year, according to the Northern Rockies Coordination Center. The majority of large incidents are in southwest and central Montana, including the 8,262 acre Roaring Lion fire near Hamilton, the 4,016-acre Race Horse Gulch fire east of Plains and the 1,445-acre Copper King fire east of Thompson Falls.

Statewide, 36 new fires totaling 1,105 acres were reported Monday, but only the 915-acre Fawn Fire in Yellowstone National Park is a new large incident.

The northwest land office reported six new fires. Five were caused by lighting, including a 12-acre fire south of Swan Lake, and fireworks caused another.

A seven-day significant fire potential forecast has Northwest Montana moving from low on Monday to little to no risk for the rest of the week. No fire restrictions are in place for Flathead County.

The state Department of Environmental Quality reported good to moderate air quality in the state as rain has helped to combat fires. Conditions are expected to dry out toward the end of the week with higher temperatures, and hazier skies may show up as smoke drifts east from fires in Idaho.

The Northern Rockies area is ranked as the fourth priority out of eight regions experiencing wildfires. Nationally, 36 fires have burned more than 318,000 acres in 13 states, almost half the total acres burned at this date last year. The 176,600-acre Range 12 fire north of Sunnyside, Wash., the 60,800-acre Pioneer fire north of Idaho City and the 57,800-acre Soberanes fire northwest of Big Sur, Calif. are the largest fires across in the U.S. currently.