Polson officials say residents are pitching in to conserve water. City Manager Ed Meece says water service was restored Monday night to all 60 homes that lost service Monday morning due to low supplies and high demand.

A Flathead County District Court judge ruled July 21 that a Montana Department of Environmental Quality review failed to consider the full effects of a water-bottling plant near Creston.

New evacuation orders and pre-evacuation warnings went into effect Monday in western and central Montana, and air quality took a dive across much of the state.

The City of Polson has declared a water emergency, and is the latest Montana community to implement temporary water restrictions. Water to 60 homes in the city was shut off Monday as the region faces extraordinary demand and low supply.

Montana officials are recommending that $22 million in federal stimulus money go toward disability services, COVID-19 screening at schools and programs to prevent the spread of sexually transmitted diseases.

Yellowstone National Park will see its first park-wide fishing closure on all rivers and streams since 2007. The closure will prohibit fishing from 2 p.m. to sunrise the following day.

Evacuation orders are in effect for Belt Park in Cascade County, and evacuation warnings are in effect for areas near Troy and Thompson Falls. In central Montana, five firefighters were injured Thursday afternoon while battling a lightning-caused fire.

Delta is now the predominant variant of COVID-19 detected in Montana, according to the state health department’s latest variant report.

Public health officials in Helena are urging parents to schedule COVID-19 vaccine appointments for their teens before school starts. State education officials say parents know what’s best for their kids.

New restrictions on campfires or smoking on public lands start Monday in parts of NW Montana. The Stage II restrictions come as the state faces a severe drought, more hot weather ahead and firefighting resources stretched thin.