Montanaโs 2025 fire season is expected to be pricey โ between $50 and $70 million โ driven largely by a complicated wildfire near Drummond earlier this year thatโll likely come out to be the most expensive suppression effort in state history. A state Department of Natural Resources and Conservation official said during the Oct. 23 Environmental Quality Council meeting that 2,303 fires burned 75,000 acres in Montana this year.
This was one of the lowest acreages burned in state history, which Gov. Greg Gianforte has repeatedly pointed to and praised DNRC for its work. DNRCโs fire management manual says that under state law, the department is required to perform aggressive initial attack on all fires and keep them โas small as possible.โ
โUnder Montana Code Annotated 76-13-104, the DNRC has the responsibility to protect land, property and natural resources within the state,โ the agency said to the Daily Montanan. โThe department places the utmost importance on the lives of firefighters and the public and will not intentionally jeopardize safety in pursuit of fire suppression responsibilities.โ
