BILLINGS- An interagency firefighting group has raised its level of preparedness for all of Montana to fight wildfires.
The Missoula-based Northern Rockies Coordination Center raised the level to three, which indicates a boost in resources to ensure enough are available to fight fires statewide.
In the Northern Rockies region, those levels are derived from a two-tiered approach:
- What is occurring? This can include the fire’s activity and what kind of teams and resources are available.
- What could occur? That measures the fire’s potential and the fire’s danger to surrounding communities.
Several areas of the state — including western and northwestern Montana — are now under "extreme" fire danger with State I and Stage II fire restrictions in place to try and prevent human-caused fires.
Click here for information on current fire restrictions in Montana.
