An AIR QUALITY ALERT is in effect for most of western Montana.
The Sand Creek Fire has grown to nearly 20,000 acres and has claimed at least part of Maverick Ski Area in the Pioneer Mountains of southwest Montana. This wildfire was showing extreme fire behavior on Monday, and Monday evening the fire burned into the top of Maverick Ski Area. Parts of the mountain have burned, the lift line has been damaged, the mid lift shack has burned, but the status of the base lodge and of the Elkhorn Hot Springs is not known completely. Firefighters performed structure protection on many buildings, but the fire's activity is keeping people from assessing the damage at the moment. There is a lot of activity in the area, and it's quite likely that homes and other buildings in the area have sustained damage or are at a complete loss. There is some hope and help on the way as a cold front will move down from Canada through Wednesday morning with much cooler temperatures, some cleaner air, and a good chance at some wet weather. This front will drop south out of Canada early Wednesday morning with a decrease in temperature and an increase in cloud cover. A few isolated showers and thunderstorms will develop through the day. Highs will range from the 60s and 70s north, to the 80s farther south. The air quality should see a little improvement. Thursday will be a mostly cloudy day with widespread showers and thunderstorms. Highs will be as cool as the 50s around East Glacier, the rest of the state will be in the 60s and 70s. Areas of rain and rumbles will continue through the night into Friday. Friday will be a rainy day for most northern and eastern areas of Montana. The rest of the state will be partly to mostly cloudy with a few showers and isolated thunderstorms. The rain, cooler temperatures and higher humidity will help to slow some of the fires. While there will be lightning strikes, the wind does not look especially strong following the storms. This weekend will be partly cloudy and warmer with just a few isolated thunderstorms. Highs will climb back into the 70s and 80s. This rain likely will not put out the fires. The smoke will not completely go away. But, a few days of cooler, wetter weather in the middle of August will be a welcome sight for Montana.
Have a great day,
Curtis Grevenitz
