Prolonged fire season slugs along toward conclusion

Fire season in Montana still has not ended. Thirty-five fires continue to burn across the state, though the combined acreage makes up a small amount of the total burned this season.

A continued drought in the east will help maintain fire-prone conditions through early November, though Monday night brought precipitation and cooler temperatures to western Montana, according to Dan Zumpfe, a meteorologist based in Missoula for the National Weather Service.

"Certainly for western Montana, it looks like we're going to be out of fire season, for the most part," Zumpfe said.

Along the Hi-Line, the we...