Outdoor burning opened in Missoula County on March 1st, and it’s off to a fair clip. As of March 6th, more than 900 folks have purchased their permits and we’ve recorded more than 260 burn activations. In a typical year, we issue between 4,000 and 4,500 burn permits and record 10,000 to 12,000 burn activations. We wanted to take this opportunity to answer some questions we encounter about Missoula’s outdoor burning program.
Do I need a permit to burn my yard waste? What about for my hazard reduction project? Yes! All outdoor burning requires a Missoula County outdoor burn permit. They cost $7.00 and can be purchased online at http://www.burnpermit.mt.gov or in person at most local fire protection agencies. If you wish to purchase or renew a permit in person and you’re in the Seeley Lake area, you can visit the Seeley Lake fire station. If you’re in the Condon area, visit Swan Valley Connections.
Missoula County outdoor burning permits are joint fire protection and air quality permits. Rather than requiring Missoula County residents to seek burning clearance from two separate agencies, we’ve joined the burn approval process into a single system. The permit terms and conditions cover both fire protection and air quality topics.
Do campfires need burn permits? No. Small campfires and recreational fires in the county do not require outdoor burning permits. However, be mindful of fire danger restrictions and always make sure your fire is dead-out before leaving it. Also, if the purpose of your small fire is to dispose of the material being burned (i.e. you’re getting rid of tree limbs), it does require an outdoor burning permit.
Why does burning close? During high fire danger, the Missoula County Fire Protection Association closes outdoor burning. This decision usually comes down at the start of July but can come earlier or later depending on weather conditions and wildfire activity. Once burning closes due to fire danger, it will stay closed until the end of wildfire season. This means folks with General burn permits are unlikely to have burning opportunities in July or August. It’s a good idea to complete your burning before July, so you don’t risk having a burn pile that has to sit until the following spring.
During periods of poor dispersion, the Missoula City-County Air Pollution Control Program will restrict burning. This is done to reduce the amount of smoke lingering in the valleys. Air quality restrictions are most frequent in the fall burning season. This is because longer, colder nights lead to strong inversions that trap smoke in valley floors. High pressure ridges also cause issues in the fall because limited convection prevents air from lifting out of the valley during the day, and strong cold weather inversions can end up lasting for days. Under poor dispersion conditions, smoke produced by outdoor burning (or other human activities) will build up in our breathing space. Almost all air quality-related outdoor burning restrictions occur in November.
Why are there air quality-related burn restrictions? Smoke is bad for you. The fine particulate matter in smoke penetrates deep into your lungs and can pass into you blood stream where it sets off an inflammatory response. It causes worsened frequency and severity of asthma attacks, increased COPD symptoms, increased risk of heart attack and stroke, increased hospital visits and increased mortality. Outdoor burning is an important tool for foresters, and prescribed understory and broadcast burns play an essential role in forest and ecosystem health. However, all burning produces smoke, and air quality-based burn restrictions are there to limit the likelihood of that smoke harming sensitive individuals in populated areas.
Why are there different burn permit types? The three burn permit types have different expiration dates. The later in the year we get, the fewer people are permitted to burn. This is because dispersion conditions worsen the closer you get to winter.
The largest burn permit category (General) is for vegetative debris cleanup in the spring. Most Missoula County residents get General burn permits. Dispersion conditions are typically good in the spring, and our airsheds can better handle smoke from 4,000+ Missoula County outdoor burners. General permits expire August 31, but it’s a good idea to complete your general burning before July and the arrival of high fire danger.
Essential agriculture permits are a smaller permit category and are for clearing cultivated fields or irrigation ditches of vegetative debris. The burning must occur on a farm or a ranch. These permits expire Oct. 31.
Prescribed wildland permits are for forestry burns, hazard reduction projects, beetle-kill cleanup, log deck reduction, etc. The burning must occur on forested or undeveloped rangeland. These permits expire Nov. 30.
With all burn permit types, it’s best to plan for spring burning to avoid burn restrictions. There are very rarely burn restrictions in the spring, but they can become quite common late in the fall. November, in particular, sometimes sees very poor dispersion conditions and prolonged burn restrictions.
How do I know if burning is open? Activate your burn permit! If the burn permit system allows you to activate your permit, that means burnings is open for the day. If burning is closed, the system will tell you it’s closed and will also tell you why – either for fire danger or due to poor dispersion conditions.
How do I know if that plume of smoke is from a permitted burn? You can check online! When outdoor burners activate their burns, the permit system plots their burn location on a publicly available map. This is a great tool for our local fire protection agencies and helps Missoula County residents know if their neighbors are burning. If you want to check out the legal burns in your area, pop on over to http://www.burnpermit.mt.gov, pull up Missoula County and select “View current burn activity.” You can check for current U.S. Forest Service, DNRC and BLM burns by visiting mi.airshedgroup.org and selecting the “Current Burns” tab.
Still have questions? Call your friendly air quality specialist at 258-4755!
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