THE LOCAL NEWS OF THE MADISON VALLEY, RUBY VALLEY AND SURROUNDING AREAS

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Gov. Gianforte (r) and Cory Calnan (l), county coop program manager for the DNRC, survey the Willow Creek Fire site on June 11. PHOTO COURTESY OFFICE OF THE GOVERNOR

Willow Creek fire southwest of Three Forks completely contained

It’s official – wildfire season is upon us with more hot, dry weather in the forecast.

Looking at the extremes, in southeast Montana the Northern Rockies Coordination Center predicted the stuff wildfires are made of: temps on June 15 of up to 109 degrees accompanied by with single-digit relative humidity and 40 mph wind gusts.

The Town of Sheridan’s aging Fire Station just isn’t large enough to accommodate modern fire apparatuses. PHOTO BY JOLENE PALMER

When our powers combine

Sometimes, size does matter. For the Sheridan Fire Department, that boils down to the size of its station: the department’s firefighting equipment can barely fit inside the aging building. Just backing into the station is a feat in and of itself. It’s gotten to the point that something needs to be done about the tight quarters.

Wildlife tracks outnumber human footprints on the embattled, narrow walkway to the Madison River. PHOTO BY JOLENE PALMER

Armitage’s alley

There’s a 12-foot wide stretch of seldom used alleyway between Grizzly and Armitage streets in Ennis that has caused quite a stir over the years. The narrow alley leads past two homesites to the Ennis Ditch and the Madison River beyond.

The Lobo Mesa Wildfire burns in the southern Gravelly Mountains Sept. 14, 2020. Photo courtesy of the Madison Ranger District.

Fire season

Representatives from the Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation (DNRC), the Madison Ranger District and Madison County Emergency Management attended the Madison County Board of Commissioners’ meeting on May 11 to update the commissioners on the upcoming fire season.

You’ve been served

As Madison County employees learned earlier this year when their county emails were down for several weeks, a functioning server is key to success for their jobs. With that in mind, Madison County Information Technology Director Brett Schriock came to the county commissioners in late April with a request for a new server.

This local chickadee enjoys a clean feeder. PHOTO BY JOLENE PALMER

For the birds

Bird lovers who’ve tuned into the news lately may have heard about the multi-state spread of salmonella in wild songbirds resulting in bird fatalities and sickness in people.

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More Information

The Madisonian

65 N. MT Hwy 287
Ennis, MT 59729
406-682-7755
www.madisoniannews.com

Cori Koenig, editor: editor@madisoniannews.com
Susanne Hill, billing: s.hill@madisoniannews.com 
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