The 2017 fire season in Montana was exacerbated by drought conditions and , there were 21 large , active fires that had consumed over . By September 20 , after rain and snow had significantly slowed most fire growth , the overall burned acreage in Montana was estimated at . Two fires alone burned over each . The first was the Lodgepole Complex Fire in eastern Montana , which started on July 19 and burned over before it was declared 93 % contained two weeks later . The second was the Rice Ridge Fire , which was identified as the nation 's top wildfire priority , after it rapidly expanded from about to over on September 3 , 2017 . Approximately 48 fires were burning , though some were under . The fire season began a month earlier than usual and months of June through August were the hottest and driest on record for Montana . On July 29 , Montana had 11.87 percent of its total land listed as in exceptional drought , the largest percentage in the nation . In mid September , the eastern portion of the Going-to-the-Sun Road in Glacier National Park was closed by ice and snow in the Rockies , while simultaneously the western portion was closed due to wildfires
Lodgepole Complex Fire
Lodgepole Complex Fire
2017 Montana wildfires