Single Incident Information

The 2024 prescribed fire season for the Custer Gallatin National Forest. Fire personnel will carry out prescribed fires as weather, fuel, and the availability of fire resources permit. Reintroduction of prescribed fire is necessary to improve and restore vegetative conditions. This effort will reduce hazardous ground fuels, lessen the risk of unplanned large-scale wildfire, help restore ponderosa pine ecosystems, and improve wildlife habitat. Prescribed fire also reduces the ladder fuels that can carry fire into the canopy, killing mature trees.

2024 Fall Broadcast Prescribed Fire Plans:

The 2024 prescribed fire season for the Custer Gallatin National Forest. Fire personnel will carry out prescribed fires as weather, fuel, and the availability of fire resources permit. Reintroduction of prescribed fire is necessary to improve and restore vegetative conditions. This effort will reduce hazardous ground fuels, lessen the risk of unplanned large-scale wildfire, help restore ponderosa pine ecosystems, and improve wildlife habitat. Prescribed fire also reduces the ladder fuels that can carry fire into the canopy, killing mature trees.

2024 Fall Broadcast Prescribed Fire Plans:

 Forest Service fire crews completed a prescribed burn in Hyalite Canyon, approximately one mile west of Langohr campground. Pile burning activities are planned in the Bozeman and Hebgen Lake Ranger Districts and also in the northeast Crazy Mountains. 

2024 Fall Pile Burning Fire Plans:

Pile burning may begin as soon as Monday, October 28, 2024 and will continue into the fall/winter/spring 2024/2025.

Pile Burning Activities in the Bozeman and Hebgen Lake Ranger Districts Fall/Winter 2024/2025:

Depending on weather conditions, pile burning activities will likely begin as soon as October 28, 2024, and will continue as conditions allow this fall through the winter on the Bozeman and Hebgen Lake Ranger Districts. This includes pile burning in North Bridgers, Hyalite Canyon in the Bozeman Municipal Watershed, North Hebgen, Lonesome Wood, Shedhorn Fire, and Administrative piles.

Update-Pile Burning Activities in the Crazy Mountains:

October 24, 2024 Update: Pile burning activities in the Crazy Mountains are expected to begin as soon as Monday, October 28, 2024.

Depending on weather conditions, pile burning activities will likely begin next week, as soon as Monday and will continue as conditions allow this fall through the winter in the northwestern Crazy Mountains, specifically in the Smith Creek and Sunlight Road areas. The Crazy Mountains are located north of Livingston, MT.

The piles to be burned are part of the Smith Shields Forest Health project and are a result of thinning to improve forest health and reduce fuels to moderate fire intensity along key corridors. The piles are located primarily in areas where residual fuel was created from hazard tree removal, thinning, hazardous fuel reduction or logging activities. Adjacent fuels are not expected to be receptive to fire during pile burning due to consistent snowpack or high moisture content.

Pile burning activities in the Crazy Mountains will only be ignited when conditions are met including high fuel moisture or snow.

Fall and winter provides ideal conditions for pile burning, with higher fuel moistures and cooler temperatures. Conducting burns in this season helps prevent out-of-control wildfires during the hotter months.

Pile burning activities in the Crazy Mountains were previously postponed due to drier than expected conditions and high winds.

Hyalite Area

In Hyalite Canyon, fire managers HAVE COMPLETED prescribed broadcast burning on 116 acres within the Bozeman Municipal Watershed, BMW Unit 19, off the Langohr Road.   This prescribed burn took place October15th and reduced fuel loads and lowered the risk of high severity wildland fires in the Bozeman Municipal Watershed.

Lingering smoke and flames may still be visible. Air quality is a key factor considered by land and fire managers during every phase of the prescribed fire and burning is only permitted when weather conditions are suitable for safe operations. Fire officials collaborate with the National Weather Service to ensure that the weather is favorable before, during, and after burning, as well as with the Montana Department of Environmental Quality to ensure smoke dispersal opportunities. 

Hyalite Canyon traffic has only one way in and one way out. To ensure safety during operations, delays may occur as crews utilize Hyalite Canyon Road. Please exercise caution if traveling in the area as roadways may be impacted by smoke and fire traffic.

South Fork Brackett Creek and Lower Fairy Lake Road

Fire managers have postponed prescribed burning on 34 acres in the North Bridgers Forest Health project area located near the South Fork Brackett Creek (North Bridgers Unit 51) and on 18 acres near Lower Fairy Lake Road (North Bridgers Unit 13). When implemented, closures may be put in place on the South Brackett Road (#631) to Ross Pass trailhead, nearby trails (#525, #539, and #551), on the Fairy Lake Road (#74), and nearby trails (#500, #527, and #540). Loggers loop, which begins in Crosscut, will also be closed at the forest boundary. The prescribed burns are anticipated to last between one and three days.

For additional information on these prescribed burns or how current closures could impact your visit to the forest, please visit us online at www.bznwatershed.com, on Facebook at Custer Gallatin National Forest, or by calling the Bozeman Ranger District office at 406-522-2520. For additional information on the Forest Service Wildfire Crisis Strategy, please see Confronting the Wildfire Crisis | US Forest Service (usda.gov).