U.S. Forest Service

Missoula County fire officials announced Monday they will move fire danger signs to "high" effective immediately.

The U.S. Forest Service's Wildland Fire Assessment System shows at least two other regions with "High" fire danger — north-central and southeast Montana.

A new Montana Free Press series is shedding a light on how policies of the past and present intersect with wildfire response. Amanda Eggert, a former wildland firefighter and freelance journalist, is writing the three-part series Living With Fire. Montana Public Radio’s Aaron Bolton spoke with her about the series.

Montana small businesses received about half a billion dollars in 2018 through federal contracts. The federal government says it exceeded its small business federal contracting goal nationwide for the sixth year in a row in 2018.  

Montana businesses received about $729 million dollars last year, and about 60% of that went to small businesses. That’s according to a U.S. Small Business Administration press release on Wednesday.

The Trump administration Wednesday reversed course on its May announcement that it would close or privatize a lot of Job Corps centers across the country, including two in Montana. The program focuses on trade skills, wildfire response and education. Nick Mott reports from the Trapper Creek Job Corps in Darby.