Rates go up Tuesday for the 700 residents of Sheridan to pay for a $400,000 loan necessary because of last year’s earthquake near Lincoln, about 160 miles away. The 5.8 earthquake that rocked western Montana in July 2017 damaged Sheridan’s second-to-last drinking water well, even though the tiny town is approximately 160 miles from the epicenter, said Sheridan Mayor Bob Stump. Mike Stickney, director of the Earthquake Studies Office at the Montana Bureau of Mines and Geology, said he was not aware of Sheridan’s well problem, but he’s not surprised.

The Butte-Silver Bow Public Archives at 17 W. Quartz will continue its Brown Bag Lunch series at noon Wednesday, March 28, with a presentation by Mike Stickney, director of the Earthquake Studies Office at the Montana Bureau of Mines and Geology. Stickney will talk about recent seismic activity in Montana, including last July’s earthquake near Lincoln and its ongoing aftershock sequence. He will also talk about the recent earthquake swarms in Yellowstone, and will touch on the unpredictability of earthquakes.

KALISPELL, Mont. — Some residents in northwest Montana have been buzzing about a recent series of earthquakes. In the month of January, Bigfork, Somers and Whitefish have all had earthquakes that registered below magnitude 3.0. Bigfork resident, Bill Mcguffie, says he was watching Jeopardy Monday evening at his home in Bigfork when he felt it. "Then suddenly it was a huge jolt, maybe like an automobile running into the other end of the house," Mcguffie said. He knew what it was, another earthquake. “We’ve had three this year,” he said.

"Historically, there have been big earthquakes in Montana,” said Mike Stickney from the Montana Bureau of Mines and Geology at Montana Tech.