Scary Elk Crash Turns To Flames. You Know, Northern Montana Stuff

There is "small town Montana", and then there is Olney. A northern Big Sky town with a population just below 200. But even small towns get big excitement.

If you haven't heard of Olney, you're either new to Montana, or you're not much of an outdoor person. It might be a bit of a drive, but this small mountain town has some of the best opportunities for hiking, camping, skiing, fishing, and hunting. Living the "outdoor dream" in Montana can, however, sometimes turn into a nightmare.

In the early hours of Saturday, November 4th, that's exactly what happened to an unfortunate, but aware/smart driver. The perfect storm of early morning elk movement, no cell service, and flames were a mix of unformatted events that this driver will never forget. I reached out to the local Olney Fire Department to find out what happened.

The accident was on Saturday the 4th at 4:30 a.m. It Happened at mile marker 151 on Highway 93, 6 miles north of Olney. It did not burst into flames right away, when it was hit, the driver tried to pull to a pullout but noticed that it started flaming. So the driver got out. Due to the hour, there wasn’t much traffic in that neck of the woods nor was there cell service, so the driver had to wait 20 minutes before help would come by. The car was fully engulfed by the time we arrived. The elk looked to be last year or maybe two years ago young one, no antlers… it’s one of the most animal-occupied 70 mph main thoroughfares from Canada to Whitefish… slow down and keep your eyes peeled at all times. -Olney Fire Department

According to the Fire Department's Facebook page, nobody was hurt. Except for the elk.

Many small-town Montana fire departments are staffed with volunteers as well. These are the hard-working men and women who step up to the plate for their community when something like this happens. I'd like to just take a second to give a huge shout-out of appreciation to all the staffed and volunteer fire crews across the state. Keep up the good work. Montana appreciates you!