Applied Communications, LLC

09/09/2026

September is "National Preparedness Month". See the following website for valuable information on preparing for disasters such as wildfire and flooding that are becoming more frequent due to the climate change. https://www.ready.gov/

08/20/2026

The blanket of wildfire smoke that settled into Flathead Valley earlier this month may be returning as temperatures rise this week and fires to the west transport smoke into northwestern Montana. A series of pop-up events across the valley August 24-27 will showcase three new community Clean Air Centers in Kalispell, Columbia Falls and Whitefish.

These three centers are public spaces where people can escape smoke and heat and learn how they can protect their families from poor air quality.

The three Flathead Clean Air Centers this summer upgraded their air filtration systems in partnership with Climate Smart Glacier and Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services. These community facilities are generally open to the public and now serve as an information hub about indoor clean air.

The pop-up events will include refreshments, kid-friendly activities, and an opportunity to learn about home solutions to smokey air conditions. Attendees may enter a drawing for a free household HEPA air filter.

• Monday, August 24, 2-6 p.m. Columbia Falls Community Center, 205 Nucleus Avenue.
• Tuesday, August 25, 2-6 p.m. Kalispell Gateway Community Center, 1203 Highway 2 West
• Thursday, August 27, 2-6 p.m. Whitefish Community Library, 9 Spokane Avenue

These events and CSG's Wildfire and Health program are supported by Whitefish Community Foundation, Nelson Ace Hardware, Glacier Bank, Whitefish Credit Union, 101 Central, Schellinger Construction, Target, Don “K” Subaru, and Glacier Restaurant Group.

More details at https://climatesmartglaciercountry.org/2026/08/17/wildfire-smoke-is-focus-of-clean-air-pop-up-events-aug-24-27/

08/07/2026

06/17/2026

A wave of hot weather and late-summer thunderstorms will tee Northwest Montana and the Idaho Panhandle up for increased wildfire risk in August and September, according to forecasts from the National Weather Service’s Climate Prediction Center.

05/27/2026

2026 Wildfire and Smoke Outlook

The public is invited to a free community forum, simulcast live from Kalispell and Missoula on Tuesday, June 9, 2026 at 6:00 pm, during Montana Wildfire Smoke Ready Week to learn what to expect for the upcoming wildfire season in western Montana.

The event will be held on June 9th at 6:00 pm and simulcast in two locations with live panelists at each location:

Kalispell – Flathead Valley Community College, Arts and Technology Room 139
Missoula – Missoula Public Library Cooper Rooms A & B
The forum will also be available via Zoom for those wishing to attend remotely. Register for the Zoom event at this link: bit.ly/MTwildfireoutlook

Following Montana’s abnormally warm winter and below average snow pack, many in the region are asking what this summer may bring. While last year offered some relief from the pattern of increasing wildfire and regional smoke impacts, the question remains: Will we see another mild season or a return to more severe conditions? The forum will feature panelists who will sort through up-to-date weather and climate projections and share tips for how best to prepare for wildfires and accompanying smoke.

Panelists include:

Alex Lukinbeal – Meteorologist, National Weather Service (Missoula)
Kyle Bocinsky – Montana Climate Office at the University of Montana
Mike West – U.S. Forest Service and FireSafe Flathead
Amy Cilimburg – Climate Smart Missoula
Moderator: Adam de Yong – Climate Smart Glacier

The 2026 Wildfire and Smoke forum topics will address fire prediction forecasts, seasonal weather outlooks, drought and fuel conditions, long-term climate trends, wildfire preparedness in the wildland-urban interface, and practical strategies for reducing smoke exposure and improving indoor air quality. Panelists will also discuss potential impacts this summer of a warming Pacific ocean off the coast of North America as well as in the tropical Pacific, which impacts global weather through the El Niño Southern Oscillation cycle.

Adam de Yong, a community resilience specialist with Climate Smart Glacier, notes that wildfire risk in western Montana may only partially determine whether wildfire smoke reaches unhealthy levels. “Even if we don’t have much fire activity in western Montana, smoke from fires in the Pacific Northwest and western Canada can travel into our intermountain valleys.” For that reason, de Yong says, the wildfire outlook will address fire potential in the broader region.

Montana Wildfire Smoke Ready Week, June 7-13, is designated by the Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services and community partners to provide resources regarding health concerns and how best to prepare for smoky conditions. Clean Air Resource Centers have been established in communities across western Montana to provide public spaces where residents can find relief during periods of hazardous wildfire smoke. Smoke mitigation programs are available in some communities to help vulnerable households and child care facilities improve indoor clean air.

Forum sponsors include Climate Smart Glacier, Climate Smart Missoula, Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services, FireSafe Flathead, Montana Climate Office, and Missoula Public Health.

03/24/2026

CSGC is pleased to partner with MT Dept. of Public Health and Human services to offer training to HVAC Professionals and Building Managers on keeping indoor air safe for people during wildfire smoke events.

https://climatesmartglaciercountry.org/2026/03/23/protecting-people-indoors-from-wildfire-smoke/

03/04/2026

The Community Solar III project broke ground June 12 and began generating solar power to the grid in late January.

10/15/2025

Learn more about the 1964 Flathead flood and here some personal accounts of the floods devastation from locals who experienced it. Including some info from Bruce Young who will join us on Oct 23rd at our Flood Preparedness kickoff event as part of the panel after the film screening of "One in Five Hundred"

Bruce Young, 19 years old in 1964, lived along Flathead Lake and flew with his father over the flood: My dad was a pilot and he kept his airplane at the City Airport south of Kalispell. When we knew the flood was peaking, he said, “Let’s take a look,” and so we did. We flew low and over the whole flood. It was spectacular … We saw many houses in Columbia Falls with just the rooftops showing; we saw that the river had widened out of its banks, in some places a mile out. There were animals standing in fields with just their heads above water. There were dead pigs floating down the river. There was so much in the river that shouldn’t have been there … Once you see something like that, you realize the power of water and how it can change people’s lives in an instant.

https://flatheadbeacon.com/2014/03/28/when-all-hell-came-down-the-mountains/

10/15/2025

Coming up! Oct. 23rd: Climate Smart Glacier Country will host a special film screening and panel discussion on the 2022 Yellowstone flood. The panel will also discuss the historic 1964 Flathead River flood. Columbia Falls HS Theater, Thurs. Oct. 23, 7:00 pm. Hope you can make it!

10/02/2025

In 2022, a Pacific atmospheric river storm triggered devastating floods around Yellowstone National Park. With increasing intensity of precipitation events across the U.S., we started looking into the likelihood and potential impacts of a megaflood in the Flathead Valley on par with the historic 1964 Flathead flood. Similar to the recent Yellowstone flood, the 1964 flood in NW Montana is considered a 500-1000 year event based on historical records.

On Thursday, October 23, we will launch our 1964-scale flood scenario project to boost flood preparedness, mitigate risk, and reduce home insurance premiums through community awareness and action.

Join us for this free event at 7 p.m. as Montana filmmaker Hugo Sindelar screens his 54-minute documentary, One in Five Hundred, about the impact of the 2022 flood on Yellowstone gateway communities. This will be followed by a panel discussion with Sindelar alongside a community leader from Park County and Flathead residents who directly experienced the 1964 Flathead flood. They will discuss lessons learned for when the waters rise again.

The event will be hosted at Columbia Falls High School by the student Conservation Crew, co-sponsored by the Flathead Conservation District, Western Montana Conservation Commission, and Upper Flathead Neighborhood Association.

Learn more about the October 23 event at https://climatesmartglaciercountry.org/2025/09/23/when-the-waters-rise-again-october-23-event-will-launch-flood-preparedness-project/