One of the biggest wildfires in the American west right now is burning about 4 miles north of Plains in western Montana’s Sanders County.
As of Tuesday afternoon, the Banana Lake Fire had scorched over 900 acres.
Incident spokesman Nick Holloway says it has burned one hunting cabin, but otherwise is not threatening any communities.
The fire, which is 15 percent contained, was actively burning Monday afternoon with some tree torching. Crews caught and snuffed out at least seven spot fires north of the perimeter.
Holloway says crews are mopping up remaining hotspots on the fire’s northeast and southeast flanks:
“Which has been difficult, because it's what's called a dirty burn, meaning there's not a clean edge to the fire perimeter. There's just a lot of patches of burned material and unburned material,” Holloway says.
Holloway says a wildfire the size of the Banana Lake fire is extremely unusual for this time of year:
“We normally don't start fire season until early to mid-July. And so, we're a good month ahead of schedule here. It's really dry up here. It's dry all over Montana, but it's particularly dry up in this area,” Holloway says.
Experts told Governor Greg Gianforte this week that the 2025 wildfire season could be challenging due to ongoing drought and a hot and dry summer forecast.
The cause of the Banana Lake fire, which started May 31, is under investigation.
