Western Montana’s relatively tame wildfire season is suddenly ramping up in intensity, and changing weather conditions are expected to boost fire risk this week.

The City of Helena next week begins a two-month long hazardous fuels reduction project.. That means portions of some local hiking trails will be temporarily closed.

The U.S. Forest Service is moving forward with a plan to roughly double the acreage for prescribed burns across the Helena-Lewis and Clark National Forest.

An evacuation order issued by the Ravalli County Sheriff due to a wildfire burning in the area has been rescinded. Evacuation warnings remain in place.

A "red flag" warning means dangerous wildfire conditions are happening or about to happen. The National Weather Service says it has an updated designation for exceptionally dangerous fire conditions.