A seemingly unending succession of 90-degree plus days is pushing Northern Rocky Mountain firefighters to the limit, yet fire crews have thus far successfully kept the 20 or more wildfires currently burning in Montana and along its western border with Idaho from jumping fire lines and potentially threatening more homes and private property. Sparked by lightning in the last days of July, the Elmo Fire just west of the Big Arm of Flathead Lake has proven to be the most concerning wildland fire in Montana thus far into the summer fire season. Burning five miles west of the border near Hamilton, Montana, the Moose Fire is currently one of the most concerning wildland fires in the Northern Rockies. Burning in grass, shrub and a mixed conifer forest, the 78,000-acre fire is now cresting ridges and slowly backing down toward lower elevation bottoms within the Salmon River drainage.