SEELEY LAKE (AP) – Wind is the enemy and safety the top priority as fire crews try to protect this resort town from a wildfire that has prompted evacuation of some 675 homes, a fire commander said Tuesday. “Your safety is going to determine what we can and can’t do out here,” fire commander Glen […]

Kalispell City Council approved Monday night the first phase of the Starling subdivision project, a development over a square mile that will roughly equal the downtown area of the city over the next 20 years. Council voted unanimously to annex a parcel of land in northwest Kalispell, bordered on the east by Stillwater Road, south […]

SEELEY LAKE – Predicted winds out of the west are picking up this afternoon on the Jocko Lakes Fire near Seeley Lake, but containment lines on the east flank of the fire – the side closest to homes – are holding, said fire information officer Pat Cross. “The fire activity is picking up. The things […]

Brush Creek fire: An estimated 18,927 acres, or 29.5 square miles, have burned in the Flathead and the Kootenai national forests, west of Whitefish. The Good Creek Community is under an evacuation notice, while the community of Star Meadow remains evacuated. Ahorn fire: An estimated 44,100 acres, or nearly 70 square miles, have burned in […]

HELENA (AP) – A state of emergency was declared in Montana on Sunday because of several large wildfires, including one northeast of Missoula that had burned more than 28 square miles and was within a mile of homes. Higher humidity and cloud cover were helping firefighters contain that blaze, which began Friday and rapidly grew […]

KALISPELL (AP) – The former leader of a Flathead County militia group has been re-sentenced on federal weapons charges. David Burgert was sentenced Friday in U.S. District Court in Missoula to eight years and four months in prison and three years of supervised release for conspiracy to possess illegal firearms, possession of a firearm and […]

After a long, hot summer of invitational meets, the C-Falls Swim Team looked forward to finishing the year with a bang at the 2007 Montana Federation of Swimmers’ State swim meet in Lewistown this past weekend. At State, the meet is scored differently to level the playing field between teams of different sizes. Relays are […]

A cold front carrying high winds handed firefighters a mixed bag over the weekend. Some blazes blew up, burning out of control, while others quieted without putting up much of a fight. In any case, on Sunday and Monday the nation’s top five priority fires were all burning in Montana. And it doesn’t appear that […]

I have mixed feelings about the word “nugget.” Yes, I’m uncomfortable with compressed poultry ovals, though I admit they are conveniently shaped for easy handheld consumption. But it’s more than that. Since I understand I’m in no position to comment on the morality of chicken farms or ovals, it’s really just the word “nugget” that […]

A bleary-eyed 18 year old boy walks up to the team breakfast area a little after 7 yesterday morning. He takes a patty of sausage, adding it to a plate of watermelon cubes. He’s asked if he wants eggs or French toast with his sausage. “Neither”, comes the reply. One of the cooks asks if […]

WASHINGTON (AP) – Montana Sen. Max Baucus threatened Monday to subpoena the Environmental Protection Agency over why asbestos poisoning in Libby was never declared a public health emergency. Baucus has requested five-year-old documents from the agency detailing deliberations over whether it would declare such an emergency. Baucus said such a declaration would have lead to […]

August is here and the temperatures are expected to remain hot – so why not take a dip in a pool at Woodland Water Park in Kalispell to cool off? The park offers two water slides – one built for a speedy descent and the other a twisting and turning fall. There is an activity […]

The Jocko Lakes fire west of Seeley Lake closed part of Highway 83 and caused an evacuation. “We could see the mountains this morning,” says Condon resident Stacey Boyd, “but now, we can’t.” Boyd described the conditions in Condon as smokey, and windy. The 5,000 acre fire sprung up on Friday, Aug. 3. Officials have […]

HELENA (AP) _ A state of emergency was declared in Montana on Sunday because of wildfires, including one northeast of Missoula that had forced the evacuation of 200 homes and continued to grow unchecked. Lighter wind and higher humidity were expected at the Jocko Lakes fire Sunday, and the wind was largely blowing the blaze […]

KALISPELL (AP) – Sanders County authorities have pulled the body of a missing Billings man from the Flathead River. Ross Albrecht, 48, was reported missing July 28 near Dixon Landing. Sanders County Search and Rescue crews recovered his body Friday about 4 miles east of the Perma Bridge after a pilot spotted it in the […]