Montana/Dakotas Prescribed Fire
Fire has always been part of the environment, and one of the most important natural agents of change. Fire plays a vital role in maintaining healthy ecosystems. Native Americans understood this and used fire to hunt game, maintain rangelands, and keep forests healthy.
Read about current and planned prescribed fires
Prescribed fire is a planned fire. A prescribed fire is one of the most important tools used to reduce wildfire risk to communities, restore habitats, and to achieve land-management objectives. Fire management specialists consider objectives such as public and employee safety, weather, topography, fuels, size, the precise environmental conditions under which it will burn, and conditions under which it may be suppressed.
Prescribed fire is generally less expensive and yields ecological benefits that cannot be achieved by other means, such as mechanical thinning or logging. Prescribed fires restore some of the ecological benefits that were historically gained from naturally occurring fires. There are many potential goals that can be achieved by using prescribed fire. Here are a few examples:
- Reduce surface and ladder fuels that contribute to increased risk of uncharacteristically severe wildfire.
- Reduce risk local communities from wildfire.
- Help protect natural resources such as timber and critical habitat.
- Promote native species and reduce encroachment of invasive species.
- Enhance landscape resiliency and recovery from a wildfire event.
- Improve firefighter ability to safely and effectively respond to and suppress wildfire.
All prescribed burns are carefully planned and only carried out when weather, fuel conditions, and air quality are within safe parameters. Firefighters use a combination of natural features and constructed control lines to keep the fire contained, with protocols in place to minimize smoke impacts on nearby communities.
Below you'll find updates about current and planned prescribed fires:
Eastern Montana/Dakotas District
Schenk Prescribed Fire
October 8, 2026 Update: Due to changes in the weather forecast, the Schenk prescribed fire (originally scheduled for today) has been postponed. Fire staff will evaluate future windows for implementation in the following weeks.
15 acres of BLM land will be burned within the Schenk Rx unit.
Size: Approximately 1,220 acres
Project location: Roughly 5 miles southwest of Jewel Cave
Jurisdiction: Lands administered by the U.S. Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management, and private landowners.
The burn units are comprised of a mix of grass, shrubs, and timber litter. Smoke may be visible from nearby areas during burning operations but should subside each evening. Forest Service fire/fuels personnel will monitor the burned areas following operations until the fires are safely out.
For additional details, view the news release from the U.S. Forest Service.
Western Montana District
Morrison Peak Prescribed Fire
October 8, 2026 Update: The BLM Missoula Field Office plans to conduct prescribed fire operations today in the Lower Blackfoot Corridor project area.
The 600 acre Morrison Peak Rx unit is located approximately 19 miles east of Missoula. We plan to burn Block B (287 acres). We will ignite by hand and aerially using UAS. Short term Smoke local impacts will persist from yesterday's operations with clearing around noon today. The weather forecasted for Friday will help to disperse the smoke out of the area. More information about local air quality is available from Missoula Public Health.
North Central Montana District
No prescribed fires are planned at this time.