Montana/Region

Trailer burns, evacuations ordered as new wildfires spread

Published on Tue, 08/23/2016 - 3:53pm
 
MISSOULA, Mont. — New wildfires forced evacuations north of Missoula and threatened homes near Lakeside, though firefighters were buoyed by the return of cooler temperatures Tuesday after two days of hot, dry and gusty weather.
 
A fire that broke out Monday evening outside Missoula about 4 miles north of Interstate 90 burned a trailer and led to the evacuation of about two dozen homes. The cause has not been determined.
 
The trailer's resident is safe, KECI-TV reported in a story posted Tuesday.

Road to Yellowstone South Entrance closed by fire

Published on Tue, 08/23/2016 - 3:48pm
 
YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK, Wyo. — More firefighters headed to Yellowstone and Grand Teton national parks where large, growing wildfires have closed or are threatening key roads and forced the evacuation of a large campground during one of the busiest times of the summer tourist season.
 

Gianforte says Indian reservations hinder free markets

Published on Mon, 08/22/2016 - 3:52pm
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HELENA, Mont. — The way for Montana's American Indian reservations to escape poverty is through the free market, but the shortcomings of tribal governments are preventing businesses from flourishing, Republican candidate for governor Greg Gianforte said in a campaign stop last month.

Gianforte made his remarks on July 21 in Huntley in response to an audience member's question about how to fix the economic, crime and drug problems on the state's seven reservations.

Police identify boy, 9, fatally shot in Belgrade home

Published on Mon, 08/22/2016 - 3:44pm

BOZEMAN, Mont. — Police have identified a 9-year-old boy who was shot and killed in Montana.

The Bozeman Daily Chronicle reports that police say Greydun Flinn Stockinger of Belgrade was fatally shot with a semi-automatic handgun Thursday morning.

Belgrade police say Stockinger did not live n the home where the shooting occurred. Authorities say there was another boy in the house at the time of the shooting but no adults were home.

Wyoming conflict between wolves, livestock up sharply

Published on Mon, 08/22/2016 - 3:42pm

JACKSON, Wyo. — Federal officials say the number of conflicts between wolves and livestock in Wyoming is up sharply, exceeding the number of wolves that were killed last year, which was the second highest number in the state since they were reintroduced to the northern Rockies 21 years ago.

Sheep and cattle killed by wolves have been found in the Upper Gros Ventre area, in the Salt and Wyoming ranges and other areas of the state, wildlife officials said.

In dry, windy West, crews target flames in several states

Published on Mon, 08/22/2016 - 3:41pm

SAN SIMEON, Calif. — Growing wildfires fed by windy, dry conditions have destroyed buildings and forced evacuations in central California, eastern Washington and elsewhere.

Crews in both states fought to contain the blazes Monday, with firefighters making headway in the Golden State while authorities counted at least 16 homes burned in the Northwest.

Here's a look at major wildfires in the West:

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CALIFORNIA

AT&T adding about 100 customer service jobs in Missoula

Published on Mon, 08/22/2016 - 3:40pm

MISSOULA, Mont. — AT&T is adding about 100 customer service jobs in Missoula.

The company bought DirecTV, including its local call center, last summer and says it needs 100 customer service representatives in Missoula.

According to the Missoulian, it could bring the number of AT&T employees in Missoula to about 750.

Company spokeswoman Suzanne Trantow says the company has been adding about 160 more jobs locally and 180 more statewide since the ownership transition.

Six Congolese are first refugees in Missoula for resettlement

Published on Mon, 08/22/2016 - 3:39pm

MISSOULA, Mont. — An exhausted Congelese family of six experiencing culture shock has arrived in Missoula, the first of an anticipated 100 east African refugees expected to be resettled in Montana over the next year, a resettlement agency official said.

The family arrived last Thursday and International Rescue Committee Missoula director Molly Short Carr declined to identify them because of privacy concerns, but said three of the family's four children spent their entire lives in a Tanzanian refugee camp.

Wildfire near West Yellowstone 20 percent contained

Published on Fri, 08/19/2016 - 1:26pm
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YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK, Wyo.— Firefighters have stopped the growth of a wildfire burning on the west side of Yellowstone National Park.

The fire is burning about 4 miles north of West Yellowstone, Montana. It has burned nearly 200 acres.

Officials say they have contained about 20 percent of the fire and expect to make more progress over the next couple of days.

About 80 firefighters, aided by air tankers and helicopters, have been working to put it out because of its proximity to West Yellowstone.

Rare Tyrannosaurus rex skull arrives at Seattle museum

Published on Fri, 08/19/2016 - 1:23pm
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SEATTLE— Paleontologists with Seattle's Burke Museum have unearthed the bones of a Tyrannosaurus rex that lived more than 66 million years ago, including a rare nearly complete 4-foot long skull.

The remarkable discovery includes the dinosaur's vertebrae, ribs, hips and lower jaw bones, and represents about 20 percent of the meat-eating predator.

Several dozen scientists, volunteers, students and others worked over the summer to excavate the bones in the Hell Creek Formation in Montana, a site well known for fossil finds.