Montana Wildfires: State Burning Through Firefighting Money

HELENA, MT — Montana's worst fire season in years is expected to scorch the landscape — stricken by drought — well into fall and long after the state's firefighting reserves run dry.

Politicians diverted millions of dollars to fill a budget shortfall, and there is only $12 million left of the $63 million in the firefighting fund in June. The state is burning through that at a rate of $1.5 million a day, state Department of Natural Resources and Conservation director John Tubbs said Tuesday.

"We will use up the remaining balance in fairly short order," he said. (For more information on this and other Across Montana stories, subscribe to Patch to receive daily newsletters and breaking news alerts. If you have an iPhone, click here to get the free Patch iPhone app.)

The state's financial worries come as forecasters for the National Interagency Fire Center predict that eastern Montana, southern California and the western Dakotas could be exposed to major wildfire threats into October or November.

A wet winter and spring produced thick grasses in the region, but a hot June melted the snow and dried out the vegetation, leaving it vulnerable to lightning-caused fires, said Bryan Henry, a meteorologist for the fire center.

The threat of major wildfires also will remain high throughout August in northern Nevada and parts of the Northwest and northern Great Plains, he said.

Smoke from fires in #BC, #Montana, & #Idaho spreads far & wide in this #GOES16 loop. See more on GOES-16 & fire @ https://t.co/wXoDPHBi3R pic.twitter.com/576IwAr7x6
— NOAA Satellites (@NOAASatellites) August 1, 2017

More fires are now burning in Montana than any other state. So far, they have torched 578 square miles — an area larger than Wyoming's Grand Teton National Park — through both mountain timber in the west and grasslands in the east. That's already surpassed the land burned every year since 2012, when 1,907 square miles burned in Montana, costing the state $55 million.

Most of the fires started in July. The state spent $21 million fighting fires that month — equal to the amount it spent for the 12 months before that, Tubbs said.

The eruption of wildfires caught state lawmakers and officials off guard after forecasts in the spring predicted only a moderate fire season. That's when lawmakers passed a measure mandating that $30 million be transferred out of the fire fund if the state's income came in lower than revenue forecasts.

A super scooper plane loads up at Seeley Lake last night while fighting the Rice Ridge Fire visible in the background.. #mtfire #mtnews pic.twitter.com/cXkNxgWoo0
— Montana Public Radio (@mtpublicradio) August 2, 2017

The revenue numbers came in last month, triggering the transfer and a slew of budget cuts across state government.

Republican Sen. Pat Connell of Hamilton said he is concerned that another major fire could erupt at any time without enough money left in the fire fund.

"We've got a long way to go through this fire season and I'm very scared about our future," Connell said.

If the fund runs dry, state officials will still be able to respond to fires, Tubbs said. His department can pull up to $22 million from the state's general fund, and an earlier fire disaster declaration by Gov. Steve Bullock authorized an additional $16 million.

But with the revenue shortfall, it's not clear how much cash is available. Tubbs said that will be a challenge for the governor's budget director.

Some relief came when the U.S. government last week approved a grant that will allow the state to recover three-quarters of its costs to fight its largest fire burning in eastern Montana. The amount of the savings is not yet clear.

The state is also entering into cost-sharing agreements to fight fires with the U.S. Forest Service, which will also help, Tubbs said.

By MATT VOLZ, Associated Press

AP writers Dan Elliott in Denver and Bobby Caina Calvan in Helena contributed to this report.

Photos credit: Meg Oliphant /The Billings Gazette via AP