Record warmth and drought heighten wildfire risk in Montana

A record-warm winter and abnormally dry conditions in Montana are raising wildfire risk despite late-June rains, as scientists warn of elevated fire danger heading into late summer.

First covered Jul 17, 2026 · 2:00 AM PT · 1 article

Record warmth and drought heighten wildfire risk in Montana — Image via insideclimatenews.org

Coverage

15h Inside Climate News A Record-Warm Winter and Summer Heatwave Are Stoking Montana’s Wildfire Risk — Just weeks ago, western Montana appeared to have escaped the early wildfires that forecasters feared after one of the warmest and driest winters on record, as…

Primary sources

dnrc.mt.gov Current Fire Information

epa.gov Wildland Fires and Public Health Effects | US EPA

nrcs.usda.gov April Storms Delay Snowmelt But Fail To Recover Snowpack Deficits (nrcs.usda.gov)

More coverage from around the web

bigskyfiredefense.com Montana Wildfire Forecast 2026: The El Niño Effect

mtstandard.com Montana wildfire forecast clouded by low snowpack

montanarightnow.com The fire season ahead of Montana for 2026 | Fires | montanarightnow.com

fairfieldsuntimes.com The fire season ahead of Montana for 2026 | State | fairfieldsuntimes.com

mtpr.org Montana wildfire forecast comes with a lot of unknowns and little snowpack | Montana Public Radio

Appeared in: 2026-07-18 (#10)

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