Fire season isn’t quite over in western Montana, but as of Wednesday morning, Stage Two Fire restrictions will be. Missoula Area Restrictions Coordinator Chris Johnson Explains,

"Over the last couple days we've had some widespread precipitation and some cooler temperatures, some real Fall-like conditions," Johnson said. "I think we've even had some snow at 8,000 feet around western Montana. So, come Wednesday, August 29, folks are going to wake up, out of Stage Two restrictions  and campfires will be allowed in all the places they were prohibited by the Stage II order."

Last year, Stage Two Fire restrictions didn’t end until September Eleventh, so they are coming to an end two weeks earlier this year. Chris warns that this doesn’t necessarily mean that fire season is over.

"For those of us who were in Yellowstone in 1988, we had kind of the same thing," Johnson said. "Right around September 12, we had a big rain event with snow up around 8,000 feet and then after that we returned to Indian Summer conditions and we were out putting fires out in the forest until mid-October, so we could get back into fire season."

County burn bans are still in effect in Mineral, Missoula Powell, Ravalli and Sanders Counties, and likely will be until snow hits the valley floor.

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