In brief: Driver, 66, killed in train-truck collision

MISSOULA – Montana Highway Patrol troopers said a man was killed in Lincoln County after his vehicle collided with a train.

KECI-TV reported a 66-year-old man was driving a truck near Troy at about 9 p.m. Friday when his tire got stuck while crossing railroad tracks.

Train conductors sounded the horn but the truck and train collided, causing an explosion.

Troopers said the man killed was the only person in the vehicle.

Mild quake shakes part of Montana

GREAT FALLS – A small earthquake struck the Lincoln area but no damage was reported.

The U.S. Geological Survey says the magnitude-3.6 quake shook the area at 10:42 p.m. Saturday.

The quake was centered about 6 miles south southeast of Lincoln at a depth of nearly 11 miles.

Exploding target blamed for fire

HAMILTON, Mont. – Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks officials said a wildfire that displaced two mountain lion cubs in August was caused by a target shooter who detonated an exploding target.

The Ravalli Republic reported the 50-acre fire started in an area of waist-high grass east of Florence in the Sapphire Mountains.

No one has been cited for the fire and the investigation continues.

The U.S. Forest Service’s Northern Region prohibited the use of exploding targets on national forest lands in May. At the time, the agency said exploding targets had caused at least 16 wildfires in Western states that cost taxpayers more than $33 million.