Montana Once Again Dealing with Smoke from Oregon and Washington

Residents across the Glasgow area are once again waking up to hazy skies and the smell of wildfire smoke.

The smoke is not coming from a nearby fire. Instead, it's being carried into northeast Montana by winds transporting smoke from large wildfires burning in Oregon, Washington, and western Montana. A persistent ridge of high pressure has also brought hot, dry weather to the region, allowing smoke to linger and reducing air quality across much of the state.

Conditions can change throughout the day depending on wind direction, but the thickest smoke often settles near the ground during the overnight and early morning hours before improving later in the afternoon.

Health officials recommend limiting prolonged outdoor activity when smoke is heavy, especially for children, older adults, and people with asthma, heart disease, or other respiratory conditions.

Residents can monitor current air quality and smoke conditions by visiting the Montana Department of Environmental Quality's Today's Air website at https://todaysair.mtdeq.us/.