The 2018 fire season has cost the state $6.7 million as of the end of November, according to the Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation.
That’s significantly under the state’s average fire bill of around $20 million over the last decade.
It’s a relief for the state’s firefighting savings account, which was nearly dry heading into this season following the historic fire costs in 2017.
The roughly $70 million in fire costs last year added pressure to the state budget that eventually toppled, leading to cuts in state healthcare services for the poor, elderly, and disabled and other reductions to government programs.
