Like a giant bird, a Type 2 helicopter prepares to settle at the Ronan Airport after a long day of battling the blazes that flared up across the Mission Valley. (Kristi Niemeyer/Leader)
August 3, 2023
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August 3, 2023 midnight
Circle of fire: Four blazes fanned by high winds
The dry lightning that strode across western Montana Saturday night was bad enough, starting a line of fires from north of Dixon to Niarada. But when winds, reportedly gusting up to 40 mph, kicked up Sunday afternoon, fires that seemed manageable suddenly weren’t.