State kept 95 percent of wildland fires to 10 acres or fewer
HELENA, Mont. – Governor Greg Gianforte today praised the Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation (DNRC) for its response during the 2024 fire season, keeping 95 percent of fires under its direct protection to 10 acres or fewer.
“Each fire season, our dedicated wildland firefighters at DNRC respond to every fire with one goal – put out the fire as safely and as quickly as possible,” Gov. Gianforte said. “Thanks to our hardworking professionals and investments in wildfire preparedness and firefighting resources, we achieved an incredible 95 percent success rate of keeping wildfires under the direct protection of the state to 10 acres or fewer this year.”
The DNRC’s ability to respond safely and aggressively to wildfires was bolstered by increased preparedness resources secured through House Bill 883. The bill, passed during the 2023 legislative session, allocated $60 million over the biennium to expand the state’s wildfire preparedness and forest management efforts.
Among the additional resources were two hand crews, a contracted helicopter with a capacity of over 2,000 gallons of water, a large air tanker capable of dropping more than 2,500 gallons of fire retardant, four single-engine water scoopers, and an incident awareness aircraft equipped with infrared technology capable of detecting fire starts at night.
“Additional firefighting assets provided through House Bill 883 gave DNRC the ability to proactively position crews and aviation resources in areas of high to extreme fire danger,” DNRC Fire Protection Bureau Chief Matt Hall said. “This ensured our resources were readily available to suppress new fire starts before they could grow to a catastrophic event.”
In July of last year, DNRC implemented a new pay increase for eligible staff during emergency events such as wildland fire in an effort to recruit and retain high quality staff. This pay increase is part of the State’s Pay Policy that allows for differential pay when employees are working in unusual working conditions.
“Wildfire is the number one natural hazard Montana communities face. As the agency with the lead role for firefighting in the state, it’s imperative we take action to strengthen our workforce to remain competitive and to meet the critical need for fire protection in Montana,” said DNRC Director Amanda Kaster. “The new pay increase is a key step in achieving this goal.”
As of December 19, a total of 2,388 fires burned 387,966 acres of land, incurring a suppression cost of about $39.1 million. Of these fires, 29 percent were lightning caused, and the remaining 71 percent were human-caused or the cause was unable to be determined. With an uptick in wildfires caused by escaped warming fires this winter, fire managers urge Montanans to exercise caution and make sure every fire is dead out before leaving.
Gov. Gianforte concluded, “Montana’s approach to wildfire prevention and suppression is a model of proactive planning and decisive action. On behalf of a grateful state, I saw thank you to the DNRC and our firefighters for their dedication to keeping our communities safe.”
The State of Montana is responsible for wildland fire protection on approximately 60 million acres of state, private and federal lands. Fire protection is provided through wildland fire crews, aviation resources and the County Co-op Program.
