HELENA – March marks the beginning of open burning season in Montana and officials are reminding people to pay attention to what they’re burning and the weather conditions they’re burning in.
Anyone doing slash, debris, or land clearing must get a permit through their local county.
Only clean, untreated wood and plant material can be burned, and those fires should be burned as hot as possible to prevent particulates from being released into the air.
Tri-Lakes Volunteer Fire Chief Bob Drake urges residents to check the air quality and make sure the valley isn’t inverted before beginning any burning operations to help protect air quality.
“Just because you can burn — it’s a great time to burn because of the snow on the ground, but if the air quality is bad and we’re having inversions. Don’t burn. Please don’t burn,” Chief Drake told MTN News.
Drake says if anyone is considering burning, the best thing they can do is reach out to their local fire officials first.
