Sorted by date Results 501 - 525 of 6329
Twenty Years Ago... Thursday, July 31, 2003 Local Girl Running for Miss Teen Montana By Patricia Swan Smith Niki Minjares, 15, a student at Seeley-Swan High School will compete at the Miss Teen Montana 2003 State Pageant. She will compete for the title in Billings, August 8th through the 10th. Niki will be a sophomore this year, and is active in basketball, volleyball, track and the Flagship program. She has participated in poetry, hiking, watercolor, jewelry making, batik and ceramics with the...
The Colt Fire went from 15 acres Wednesday morning to the largest in Montana by Friday night, burning heavy fuels and encroaching into private land. The strike was started by lightning on July 17. Firefighters from the Forest Service and the Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conversation did initial attack on the blaze, holding it to dead lodgepole stands and limited tree torching. After two days of smoking out heavy dead and downed lodgepole pines, the fire took off on Thursday, quick...
Warmer temperatures and swift winds are expected to increase Colt Fire activity on Sunday, July 30, while fire managers race to get around the fire with containment lines first. The Colt Fire was last measured at 5,475 acres on July 29. No acreage update was available for Sunday, but officials reported some fire growth. Containment now sits at 6%. The National Weather Service has issued a red flag warning for critical fire behavior from 3 p.m. to 9 p.m. on July 30. Temperatures in the fire are...
Fire lines on the eastern flank of the fire are holding, giving firefighters on the Colt Fire their first confirmed containment on July 28. The Colt Fire is now 5,252 acres with 3% containment. The fire grew about 315 acres from July 27 Fire crews burned out western sections of Forest Service Road 646 on July 27, containing the flames closest to homes on the northeast side of the fire. Workers on the north side are clearing vegetation from Beaver Creek Road with dozers and hand crews and plan...
The Colt Fire clocked in at 4,937 acres early Thursday morning, July 27. The fire grew by 547 acres over the last two days, and is still 0% contained. Containment efforts could start making headway as fire crews plan to burnout western sections of Forest Service Road 646 to secure the eastern front of the fire. Smoke from the burnout could be visible from Highway 83 on Thursday. The fire is still burning moderately, despite slightly higher temperatures and a lower humidity. On the south side of...
The Colt Fire slowed its pace on Tuesday, July 25, giving firefighters time to prep containment lines and stop the spread of spot fires. There is no acreage update for Wednesday, July 26, as cloud cover prevented infrared flight mapping. Tuesday morning clocked in at 4,390 acres with 0% containment. The growth is likely less than Monday, when a dry cold front helped burn more than 1,000 acres on the day. Fire conditions are expected to be moderate for the rest of the week, with active burning...
The theme of the annual Loon and Fish Festival hinges on its artists, and this year brought one of a kind items and old favorites to the Seeley Lake Foundation Building. The two day festival on July 21 and 22 brought scores of residents and visitors to look at and buy art, hear from a loon expert and get versed on all things fishing. The festival is sponsored by Alpine Artisans and use the profits raised by the art and ice cream sales to fund student scholarships. "It's a huge thing for artists...
A newly-graduated resident of Seeley-Swan High School Grace Mercado has a mural painted on the side of the Chicken Coop with the message to stay away from dangerous drugs, especially methamphetamines. "I decided to work on this project because I knew it was such a good cause, I wanted to make my statement about the project and hopefully help others see this poster and see the horrific impact meth has on someone," Mercado said. Mercado took two tries to paint "Abstract Horrors of Meth's...
Alpine Artisans, in partnership with the Double Arrow Lodge, is excited to announce that Montana Shakespeare in the Parks will be presenting the exciting play, The Three Musketeers, on the Double Arrow Lawn on Wednesday, Aug. 2 at 6 p.m. The event is free, and Double Arrow will be offering food and drinks for sale. A swashbuckling tale filled with action and adventure, The Three Musketeers will enthrall all generations of audience members as they get swept away to 17th century France, following...
Missoula, Montana – Due to increasing temperatures and drying vegetation, fire protection agencies have raised the fire danger in Missoula County to VERY HIGH, effective Monday, July 24, 2023. Very high fire danger means that fires start easily from all causes, and immediately spread rapidly and increase quickly in intensity. Unattended campfires are likely to escape, and high intensity burning is likely to occur on slopes and concentrated grassy areas. It is imperative that residents and visitors alike exercise caution when outdoors. On a...
Twenty years ago... July 24, 2003 Take a ride on the Canyon Falls and Western Railway By Patricia Swan Smith Bob Jenkins has been playing with trains ever since he was a little boy. While many abandon their childhood hobbies, Bob's just kept growing. And thanks to his love for trains, the Seeley -Swan Valley has a wonderful treat to enjoy - a passenger railway complete with an engine, two passenger cars and a caboose. "His unnatural progression with trains went from childhood to adulthood and...
Echos of the song "Hallelujah" reverberated off the walls of the Seeley-Swan High School auditorium as two ensembles from Taiwan and Poland serenaded onlookers during the International Choral festival preview last week. The festival, which is held in Missoula, previewed two of the choral groups in Seeley Lake on July 18. Nearly 100 people sat in chairs as the high-level performers belted out traditional and modern songs, each with their own special twist. "Choral is a small but extended network...
A new 70-space RV park in Seeley Lake could be built after several years of planning and multiple applications. David Stewart, represented by IMEG civil engineering (formally known as Territorial Landworks), requested to subdivide roughly 14 acres into three lots and create 70 parking spots. The project was first submitted in 2018, but by different owners according to Missoula County Planner Tim Worley and previous Pathfinder reporting. Worley said the County rarely sees applications for an RV...
Critical fire weather caused the Colt fire to grow by 1,463 acres in the last 24 hours, with the fire beginning to run into containment lines set by fire crews. The fire was at 4,390 acres overnight Monday, July 24, with 0% containment. Containment lines were tested, as winds from Monday's dry cold front pressed the fire onto a two-mile stretch of Forest Service Road 646. The fire managed to burn six acres past the contain line last night. Several spot fires also made it through the indirect...
The fire stood at 2,927 acres Sunday night, a figure that likely exploded on Monday, July 24, after a dry cold front brought dry winds to fan the flames in all directions. A red flag warning for critical fire weather will be in effect until midnight on Monday. Wind gusts could reach 30 m.p.h Monday night, adding power to the fire. Containment lines have been pressures, with radio dispatch reporting spot fires along the south side of Colt Creek Road. Air support is currently grounded with the...
A small wildfire sparked on the east side of Double Arrow Ranch Wednesday evening, July 19, prompting an initial attack by volunteer, Forest Service, and state firefighters. The fire, which started near private land by Grandview Drive, only grew to a quarter of an acre. There is no threat to the public at this time. Incident Commander Donovan Suko said the fire’s cause is unknown. The fire did not grow as fast as it could have thanks to help from a Department of Natural Resources and C...
Forest Service personnel and a large logging company have transformed thousands of acres west of Seeley Lake from thick forests to more fire resistant and healthy stands. Work on the Westside Bypass Good Neighbor Authority picked up again for the summer on July 15. Roughly 4,866 acres will be thinned by next year. The project is roughly halfway complete since starting in 2021, according to Seeley Lake District Ranger Quinn Carver. Timber company WeyerHaeuser, one of the owners of the most...
Keri Neal was sick of sitting in her friend’s car at the north side of Salmon Lake, so she decided to dance. Neal and her friend Jack visited Seeley Lake from Missoula for the day to sunbathe and swim. Although the two come to Seeley each year, the reconstruction of Highway 83 on Salmon Lake Road came as a shock — and a future deterrent. “I think I’ll wait to come back up when all this is done,” Neal said. “I don’t want to have to deal with this again.” Residents and visitors alike have wait...
(Update: 7 a.m. July 24) Infrared scans of the Colt Fire showed the burn at 2,927 acres late Sunday night, with much of the new growth burning to the south. The fire still stands at 0% containment, and could make large gains on Monday as critical fire weather enters the area. The fire has started to approach the West Fork of the Clearwater River near Lake Alva, and Colt Creek Road. Fire managers said in an update on Sunday that crews are building a fire line on Colt Creek Road and Beaver Lake... Full story
Update: Friday, July 21: The Colt Fire reached 99 acres with zero containment Friday morning. *** The Colt Fire northeast of Seeley Lake has grown to roughly 15 acres as of Thursday, July 20, creating a powerful blaze that fire crews hope to knock down before temperatures rise this weekend. The Colt Fire was first reported early Monday morning. It’s about 15 miles northwest of Seeley Lake, and five miles north from Lake Alva. The fire was likely sparked by a lightning strike, according to the F...
A new brick-and-mortar gift shop opened in Ovando this summer, one that plans to seasonally operate by selling local crafts and metalworks. Red Shed Gifts opened for its inaugural season in Ovando on June 15. The gift shop is an extension of the standard craft fair table the Vickie and Ben Harbour have been using at the Ovando Christmas Fest to market their craft items. “I like to create spaces,” owner Vickie Harbour said. “We needed space to sell the things we make, then decided to make a gif...
During the 2023 Change Your Pace Challenge, The Seeley Lake Community Foundation raised $95,050.81 for 16 local nonprofits, and had its best-ever match fund percentage. The match fund stood at a record $37,795, which meant people’s individual donations were valued more than in years past. “For every dollar somebody donated, they really gave $1.82,” said Claire Muller, the executive director of the Seeley Lake Community Foundation. “It’s really great to see the impact be that high.” Nearly 60 o...
Twenty years ago... Thursday, July 17, 2003 U.S House Panel Holds Field Hearing in Seeley Lake By Donna Love On Wednesday, July 2 the Seeley Lake Elementary School gymnasium transformed into a Committee Hearing Room for three hours when members of the U.S. House Resources Committee met there for a field hearing titled “Management Challenges on Montana’s National Forests.” Called at the request of U.S. Rep. Dennis Rehberg, R-Montana, Committee Chairman Richard Pombo, R-California, presided over the three-panel hearing with participation by Re...
Correction: This story is now correctly updated with the correct name of Missoula District Judge John Larson. The story incorrectly said Don Larson in an earlier version A newly-formed nonprofit launched two separate legal challenges against the state of Montana’s decision to approve an open pit gravel mine last month, setting up potential court dates that could revoke the builder’s permit. Protect the Clearwater is a newly-formed nonprofit with the main purpose of stopping the new gravel min...
Alan Muskett Editor’s note: Alan Muskett worked as a doctor in Billings for more than 20 years. While there, he wrote a column on the medical industry. Muskett now works as the Swan Valley Emergency Services Medical Director. The patient mentioned in this story was okay. The Bell 429 jet helicopter descended on the grass surface of the Condon International Airport (CIA) like a great green/blue/titanium raptor, one that had plucked an injured hiker from treacherous terrain of the high Mission Mountains. Awaiting the arrival of the patient was t...
