Governor Gianforte Receives Wildfire Update in Powell and Madison Counties

• August 26 2025

VIRGINIA CITY, Mont. – Governor Greg Gianforte recently received updates from officials responding to fires burning in Powell and Madison counties.

“With more resources than ever before, we’re executing an aggressive initial attack on all fires and working with the most qualified personnel to contain their growth,” Gov. Gianforte said. “As conditions across Montana remain critical with dry fuels and winds, I ask all Montanans to be responsible and continue to pray for the safety of all firefighters responding to our active fires.”

Gov. Gianforte receiving an update on the Windy Rock Fire in Powell County

In Powell County, the governor on Tuesday afternoon received an update on the Windy Rock and Devil Mountain fires burning nearly 3,500 acres near Drummond. The fires, ignited by lightning, are 0% contained with over 650 personnel responding.

During a visit to the incident command headquarters, operations officers notified the governor of increased fire growth on Thursday and Friday of last week due to wind shifts to the southwest. On Friday, Powell County issued mandatory evacuations for structures threatened by the growth.

As of Monday morning, a Complex Incident Management Team took over management of the fire. Meeting with Incident Commander John Szulc, Gov. Gianforte heard of the latest plans to continue containing the fire.

“This incident management team is a legacy Type 1 team. The operations professionals taking over this fire have nearly 40 years of combined experience – bringing folks together from all over the nation with experience working with all types of fuel loads. DNRC gave us really good projects for us to continue work on, we are grateful for their response,” Incident Commander Szulc added.

Officials indicated dry, unmanaged fuel loads in the area, classified as a wilderness study area, are contributing to spread despite significant aerial resources.

Increasing pace and scale of forest management in Montana to create healthier forests and reduce wildfire risks has been a top priority for Gov. Gianforte. In June, the governor and U.S. Forest Service Chief Tom Schultz established a historic agreement to jointly identify and implement large-scale forest management projects, with an initial focus on a landscape of at least 200,000 acres in northwest Montana.

Gov. Gianforte speaking with Madison County Sheriff Duncan Hedges and Amy Hyfield of the Northern Rockies Incident Management Team 6

In Madison County, Gov. Gianforte on Tuesday morning received an update on the Bivens Creek and Cloudrest fires burning 2,233 acres and 2,629 acres, respectively, near Virgina City.

During a briefing from Madison County Sheriff Duncan Hedges and Northern Rockies Incident Management Team 6 Public Information Officer Amy Hyfield, the governor learned of progress made to contain the fires thanks to hand crews establishing containment lines to limit the spread.

“Both fires have grown substantially in the last week. We have close to 800 personnel on these fires, the Incident Management Team 6 is using all available resources between the Cloudrest and Bivens Creek fires to continue making progress,” Sheriff Hedges said.

“With the Bivens Creek Fire, we please to be able to establish containment lines and have it 34% contained. Firefighters do have a line around the fire entirely and are now working on mop up and making sure those lines are holding. We should be able to show increased containment,” Hyfield added.

Hyfield continued, “On the Cloudrest Fire, we have containment on the eastern side and started defensive burning to clear the fuels between the line and the fire so we can help to control it.”

On Sunday evening, Gov. Gianforte acknowledged the loss of a firefighter responding to the Bivens Creek Fire after suffering a cardiac emergency.

“Susan and I ask all Montanans to join us in praying for the family and friends of this fallen hero. Our wildland firefighters put their lives on the line to defend our communities. Thank you to the courageous men and women who work around the clock to keep Montanans safe,” the governor said.

A video of the governor’s wildfire update from Madison County can be viewed here.

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