Good weather keeps fire costs down

by Hungry Horse News
| September 10, 2014 7:04 AM

While the number of fires state firefighters responded to was higher this year, the amount of land burned across Montana was less, saving the state millions of dollars in fire suppression costs.

Wildfires in 2014 burned about 5 percent of the yearly average acreage, according to the Northern Rockies Coordination Center in Missoula.

NRCC uses fire reports from all agencies in Montana — local, state or federal. The 21,888 acres burned so far this year represent about 5 percent of the state’s 10-year average of 383,549 acres.

Wildfires in Montana last year burned about six times as many acres as this year. And about 1.2 million acres burned during the 2012 fire season, considered one of the worst in Montana in a century. NRCC reported a total of 1,346 wildfires this year. The 10-year average is 1,661.

The Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation, which provides first responders to many wildfires, has reduced its staff to about half of the peak earlier this summer.

As of Aug. 27, DNRC firefighters responded to 239 fires in Montana, about 6 percent more than the five-year average of 225. Despite the higher number, those fires burned about 13,416 acres — about 15 percent of the five-year average of 91,451 acres.

Favorable weather is cited as the reason for less burned acres — both a late start and an abrupt end. NRCC meteorologist Bryan Henry said record snow this past winter and spring helped delay the fire season, and heavy rains in August helped bring the season to a close. Other factors included lower-than-average temperatures and less wind.

The result has been a significant drop in firefighting costs. The Associated Press reports that about $6.6 million has been spent on firefighting in Montana as of Aug. 14.

While the Montana Legislature created a $44.4 million fire suppression fund, only $1.8 million has been spent this year. The remaining money will stay in the fund and be available for future firefighting efforts. The average spent from the fund is $19 million a year.