Normal wildfire season predicted for now

 GREAT FALLS, Mont. (AP) -- An official with the Northern Rockies Coordination
 Center says forecasters for now are expecting a normal wildfire season.
   Meteorologist Bryan Henry tells the Great Falls Tribune that there is still
 uncertainty in predicting the 2012 fire season. But as of now, officials are leaning
 toward a normal fire season of between 200,000 and 250,000 acres burned in
 northern Idaho, Montana, Yellowstone National Park and North Dakota.
   The uncertainty comes from this year's weak La Nina weather pattern. The pattern
 was expected to produce more snow than it did this winter.
   Henry says he will issue his first official preliminary fire season outlook for this year
 on April 1. He says  he doesn't expect it to change too much between now and then.
   ------
   AP-WF-03-26-12 1316GMT