Fire season forecast for the Flathead
Fire experts and officials with state and federal agencies expect an average fire season in the Flathead Valley this year, although they said that June’s weather and precipitation will be telling.
“When you look at the national forecast, the outlook for the Northern Rockies is probably an average season,” said Rick Connell, a fire management officer for the U.S. Forest Service, at a press briefing Tuesday organized by the Forest Service, Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation and National Park Service.
Last year, according to Connell, the valley saw above-average rainfall in May, but the precipitation rate dropped throughout the summer. Had the region not benefited from an influx of moisture from a hurricane last year, Northwest Montana likely would have seen another 100,000 acres burnt, Connell said.