Wildfire Update & Fire Conditions

Here's more on the fire we first told you about this morning on the XL Country Morning Show.

The Fort Ellis Fire Department responded to a wildland fire along the railroad tracks two miles East of Bozeman this morning, according to Gallatin County Officials.

About five acres were burned, but no structures were threatened during the 5 AM “working-wildland” call. The suspected cause was faulty equipment on a passing freight train.

Even though the temperature at the time of call was 50 degrees and the humidity 50%, fire officials called the fire behavior “moderate”.

Fort Ellis Fire Chief Mike Cech states “This is an indication that even though we are starting to see our spring-time green-up, conditions are still very dry. There doesn’t seem to be any significant moisture in sight and residents need to be very careful when setting fires to clean up debris around their properties.”

The National Weather Service in Billings, MT is predicting critical fire conditions with high winds and hot temperatures for Monday with some cooling but still windy on Tuesday. Severe thunderstorms may result from a frontal passage today.

Gallatin County residents are reminded that they must buy a burn permit and to check the weather forecast before burning. The Gallatin County burn permit web site is: http://burnpermits.mt.gov.