WHAT CAN YOU BURN?
Only two types of debris burning are allowed in Montana:
Agricultural vegetation created from farming, ranching, and gardening. If possible, plow or dig a fire control line around the area to be burned and/or divide large fields into smaller plots to be burned one at a time. If you do not want to burn, your field or garden may benefit by simply tilling the dried plants and leaves into the soil.
Wildland vegetation is created in two ways:
Natural accumulations of needles, grasses, leaves, shrubs, limbs, and trees.
Unnatural accumulations of fuel resulting from forest management activities such as land clearing or timber harvesting.
WHAT CAN’T YOU BURN?
Materials that are prohibited to burn include: Food wastes; styrofoam and other plastics; wastes generating noxious odors; wood and wood by-products (other than trade wastes) unless a public or private garbage hauler, or rural container system in unavailable; any waste which is moved from the premises where it was generated; poultry litter; animal droppings; dead animals or dead animal parts; tires; rubber materials; asphalt shingles; tar paper; automobile or aircraft bodies and interiors; insulated wire; oil or petroleum products; treated lumber and timbers; pathogenic wastes; hazardous wastes; trade wastes; any materials resulting from a salvage operation; chemicals; asbestos or asbestos-containing materials; and standing or demolished structures containing prohibited materials. Contact Flathead City-County Health Department or call 751-8130 for more on burning.
PLEASE BE CAREFUL WITH FIRE!
Escaped debris fires can threaten valuable resources as well as lives and property. Follow the information provided under “Tips for Burning” to reduce the risk of an escaped debris fire.
YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR THE COST OF SUPPRESSION SHOULD YOUR FIRE ESCAPE CONTROL!
Montana Code Annotated (MCA) 50-63-103. Liability for offender for damages and costs. Except as provided in 50-63-104, a person who sets or leaves a fire that spreads and damages or destroys property of any kind not belonging to the person is liable for all damages caused by the fire, and an owner of property damaged or destroyed by the fire may maintain a civil suit for the purpose of recovering damages. A person who sets or leaves a fire that threatens to spread and damage or destroy property is liable for all costs and expenses incurred, including but not limited to expenses incurred in investigation of the fire and administration of fire suppression, by the state of Montana, by any forestry association, or by any person extinguishing or preventing the spread of the fire.