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Wildfire, fire management and air quality news for western Montana and the Northern Rockies.

Montana Fire Officials Urge Extreme Caution

BLM firefighters stand near their firetruck as smoke rises up in the background.
Bureau of Land Management

Montana fire officials are urging people to be extra careful with fire this weekend and over Fourth of July.Crystal Beckman is with the state Department of Natural Resources.

"This year’s conditions are drier than last year’s, and things we haven’t seen in the past, so we want to raise that awareness of being careful to not start a wildfire."

Beckman says this year is drier than the bad fire year of 2007.

"Fireworks are prohibited on on private, state and federal classified forest lands."

Classified forest lands are generally those with 10% or more tree cover, and include most of western Montana. Beckman says anyone responsible for starting a wildfire can be billed for the cost of putting it out.

Eric Whitney is NPR's Mountain West/Great Plains Bureau Chief, and was the former news director for Montana Public Radio.
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