The Whitehall Ledger - Serving Southern Jefferson County in the Great State of Montana

With record-breaking heat and dry fuels conditions keeping firefighters nervously eyeing the horizon for smoke plumes, the North Hills near Helena are particularly vulnerable to the smallest spark. The area is still reeling from the 2019 fire which ripped through 5,000 acres—a fire that was caused by an individual illegally shooting exploding targets.

With that in mind, the Bureau of Land Management is putting fire restrictions in place on BLM-administered lands within the North Hills. The restrictions begin at 12:01 a.m. June 18.

The following activities are prohibited under the Fire Pre...