The newest Montana wildfire is the Banana Lake Fire, 4 miles north of Plains. It is up to 850 acres with no containment. The fire was first reported Saturday afternoon between Locust Hill and Hwy 28, burning in open timber. Over the weekend, DNRC and local firefighters were holding the fire at bay.
Monday morning, command was turned over to the Western Montana Type 3 Incident Management team with resources coming in from around the region.
The summery weather with temps in the 70s, winds 5-15 mph, and no precipitation in the forecast is a dangerous scenario that could cause a blow up. Nighttime winds gusting to 20 mph are expected.
The Montana Department of Transportation warns of smokey conditions in the vicinity, causing visibility concerns along Hwy 200 and Montana 28.
