3 arrested in fireworks blaze face charges

HAVRE (AP) -- Three Havre-area men face arson, burglary and theft charges in connection with a fire that destroyed the Havre Jaycees fireworks booth last week.

Twenty-year-old Charles Stratton, 18-year-old Anthony Groce and 18-year-old Lester Skramstad were jailed after the Havre Fire Department determined the June 30 fire was suspicious and the sheriff's office recovered a large amount of fireworks from two area homes during a three-day investigation.

According to court documents, the three men maintain they

didn't target the Jaycees booth, but that it was a random act.

The Jaycees had reported the stand and fireworks destroyed in the blaze were worth about $30,000.

Great Falls man claims $90,300 from Hot Lotto

HELENA (AP) - Montana Lottery officials say a Great Falls man has claimed $90,300 in Hot Lotto prizes.

Anthony Powers brought his winning tickets at One Stop Conoco in Valier for Wednesday's drawing and claimed his windfall Friday.

Powers always picks his own numbers. He matched five white balls on three plays and added Sizzler, which makes each win $30,000. He also matched four out of five white balls on the two other plays and added Sizzler, which makes those wins $150 each. His total prize from the ticket with five plays was $90,300.

Man sentenced in Humvee theft

LIVINGSTON (AP) -- A 21-year-old man who pleaded guilty to stealing a Humvee from the National Guard Armory in Livingston has been given a five-year deferred sentence and ordered to pay $18,000 in restitution for the theft and other vandalism.

Steve A. Williams was sentenced June 29 for the Humvee theft and for vandalism at an FM translator and a water tower in October 2008. He is required to pay nearly $12,000 in restitution to the National Guard Armory and $5,800 to the city.

The Humvee was stolen on Oct. 21 and recovered four days later in a remote area west of Livingston. Williams pleaded guilty to felony theft and felony criminal mischief in May.

Two others are charged in the case. If they are convicted, they may have to share restitution payments with Williams.

FS aims to keep smoke out of Missoula's eyes

MISSOULA (AP) -- The U.S. Forest Service wants to keep smoke out of Missoula residents' eyes and lungs.

The Missoula Ranger District is using prescribed burns on Blue Mountain as part of its efforts to keep ash from a possible wildfire here from billowing down into Missoula.

John Waverek, a fire manager, says the problem in the area is that years of unnatural fire suppression around the Missoula Valley led to forests being choked with thick brush and vulnerable stands of trees.

As a result, wildfires like one that rolled through a nearby mountain in 2003 torched pretty much all vegetation -- and left Missoula's airshed impacted for days.

Now, Waverek hopes to light prescribed fires on most of Missoula's hillsides like the one planned for Blue Mountain every 10 to 20 years to clear out fuels that help fires jump from trees' understory to their crowns.