Glacier park campground evacuated after shot fired

KALISPELL, Mont. – A campground in Glacier National Park was temporarily evacuated over the weekend after a 28-year-old Helena man fired a shot into the air from inside his tent.

Park spokeswoman Margie Steigerwald tells the Flathead Beacon that the man and his girlfriend were at Sprague Creek Campground on Saturday night when he fired the shot.

The girlfriend sought help from the campground host and law enforcement was alerted at about 9:30 p.m. Rangers evacuated the campground.

Steigerwald said eight armed rangers surrounded the man and negotiated with him until he dropped the single-shot revolver.

Rangers believe the man was disoriented or altered due to prescription medication. He was taken to the hospital in Kalispell and campers were allowed to return at about midnight.

The man may be cited because it is illegal to fire a weapon in the park.