Prescribed burning planned on Bitterroot National Forest 
Please continue to monitor this page and post for burn updates.

Darby-Sula Ranger District: 
Firefighters plan to continue burning piles (115 more acres) on Tuesday, Oct. 21, in an adjacent area as listed above off Forest Road 62885, 1 mile south of Chaffin Creek.

 Firefighters completed burning Oct. 20 on approximately 100 acres of hand piles 3 miles west of West Fork Hwy (473), and 5 miles southwest of Darby off of Forest Roads 374, 62886, and 62887 and 1 mile south of Chaffin Creek. 

West Fork Ranger District: 
 Firefighters plan on burning 38 acres of hand piles located south of Painted Rocks Lake in the Coal Creek area on the west side of West Fork Road between mile marker 26 and 27. 
Signs are placed along the highway and FR 5660 leading into Coal Creek. No area roads or trails will be closed due to the burning. Smoke impacts should be localized around the south end of the lake and may produce residual smoke for several days as fuels continue to burn down.

 Yesterday, personnel from the West Fork Ranger District successfully completed 76 acres of hand pile burning in the Castner Creek area. Smoke from yesterday's burn may still be lingering in the surrounding area for several days as fuels burn down.

Bitterroot National Forest Begins Prescribed Burns

Favorable weather conditions in place to reduce hazardous fuels 

Hamilton, MT, Oct. 15, 2025 — The Bitterroot National Forest is planning to start prescribed fire operations this Fall season, pending all required approvals. We estimate this work to continue through the season as weather conditions allow. We use prescribed fires to help reduce overgrown vegetation to help protect local communities, infrastructure and natural resources from future wildfires.

Darby-Sula Ranger District planned prescribed fires:

• Cameron Blue Ecoburn – Located south of Cameron Creek and northeast of Guide Saddle utilizing Forest Road 723 as a southern boundary and FR 717 as a northwest boundary.  1,117 acres are planned.
• Pile burning may occur in multiple locations. 1,905 acres are planned.

West Fork Ranger District planned prescribed fires:

• Piquett Ridge, Piquett Creek, East Piquestt and West Violet – Project areas are located approximately 4 to 7 miles southwest of Conner, east of the West Fork Road and south of Trapper Creek Job Corp. Burning will take place along Forest Roads 49, 731, 5720, 5723. 1800 acres are planned.
• The West Fork RD is planning for 1,050 acres of hand piles. 

Stevensville Ranger District planned pile burns:

• West Central Pile 3B – The prescribed burn area will be 5 acres of piles. The burn is located northeast of McCalla Creek. The project area will be adjacent to Saint Mary’s Peak Road.
• Bass Creek Pile 1A (labeled WCP_1A) – The prescribed burn will be 10 acres of piles. The burn is located northeast of Bass Creek Trailhead. The project area will be adjacent to Forest Road 1136.
• 3-Mile Landing Piles – The prescribed burn will be 300 acres of logging slash landing piles. The burn is in the 3-Mile Wildlife Management Area. The project area will be located in the southern portion of the wildlife management area.
• Calf Creek – The prescribed burn will be 60 acres of hand piles. The burn is in the Calf Creek Wildlife Management Area. 

Prescribed burn project areas may close to the public for several days to ensure public safety. Watch for warning signs along roads near all prescribed fire areas before and during burns.

Residents may experience smoke during the prescribed burns. For more detailed information about air quality, go to https://fire.airnow.gov online or download the app. When driving, slow down and turn on your headlights if you encounter smoke on the road.

We will evaluate weather conditions in the hours and days before a burn begins. If conditions warrant, scheduled prescribed fire activities may be canceled.

Stay informed about the scheduled prescribed fires by visiting the forest Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/DiscoverBitterrootNF, the forest interactive prescribed burn map at https://experience.arcgis.com/experience/4ac726fda3434b40bf59a127f1ddf380.

We will notify county emergency management officials and post on the county burn permit site at https://app.egovmt.com/burnpermit/ when burning begins.