As of Thursday, August 12, 2021, Montana reports 119,519 confirmed COVID-19 cases, with 393 new cases reported in the last day: 84 new cases in Flathead County, 56 new cases in Yellowstone County, 38 new cases in Gallatin County, 38 new cases in Missoula County, 32 new cases in Cascade County, and more new cases in 34 more Montana counties. The number of active coronavirus cases in Montana is 2,516. Currently, 179 people are being treated in Montana hospitals for COVID-19. 1,729 people have died in Montana of COVID-19. Three more deaths have been reported in the last day. Nationwide, more than 619,000 Americans have died of COVID-19. There have been 36,300,000 cases of coronavirus in the US, and counting.

Unvaccinated students will pay a $750 ‘Covid fee’ at a West Virginia college, and $500 at an Alabama school for their weekly coronavirus testing costs. West Virginia Wesleyan College and Birmingham–Southern College in Alabama announced the fees prior to the start of the fall semester. The West Virginia school fee will also apply to students who fail to submit proof they have either been fully vaccinated or received the first dose.

A grizzly bear injured two hikers in the Madison Range in an encounter southeast of Ennis. Around 8:30 p.m. Tuesday, two men were hiking with a dog off trail in the Bear Creek area when they encountered at close range a sow grizzly bear with cubs. The two hikers used bear spray to defend themselves and sustained non-life-threatening injuries.

Two wildfires on the Northern Cheyenne Indian reservation spurred mandatory evacuation orders for the town of Lame Deer late Wednesday night. Tribal, local and federal firefighters have been wrangling with wildfires burning in Rosebud County and on the reservation since Sunday, when the Richard Spring fire began southwest of Colstrip. It has since burned more than 166,000 acres. A second wildfire, just west of Lame Deer, was reported Tuesday. It has since reached more than 4,600 acres.