Missoula, MT (KGVO-AM News) - I spoke to DNRC (Department of Natural Resources and Conservation) Deputy Forest Division Administrator Wyatt Frampton this week about the busy wildfire season that just ended.

Frampton began by describing the DNRC’s role in firefighting.

The DNRC Is Responsible for Over 60 Million Acres of Wildfire Protection

“The Department of Natural Resources and Conservation is responsible for wildland fire protection on about 60 million acres of land across the state, and we implement that through relationship with our county and local governments who help provide initial attack response,” began Frampton. “The DNRC helps provide training, additional resources and financial backing in the event that a fire escape (called our County Co Op Program), and we also directly hire and employ firefighters who respond to wildland fires with fire engines and utilizing helicopters and other aviation resources to locate and suppress fires across the state.”

Frampton said the DNRC was successful in finding enough local and non local wildland firefighters for the season.

“It's a healthy balance between the two,” he said. “We have a lot of homegrown firefighters, but we also do pull in a lot of firefighters from across the country, and a lot of our fire stations are located in remote parts of the state, and so we have housing provided in some of those locations, and so it makes a great introduction for some folks who are new to Montana and looking to help out and bring the their various experiences to bear for us for the summer.”

The Legislature Provided Better Salaries for Wildland Firefighters

Thanks to the Montana legislature, Frampton said wildland firefighters received higher wages and better benefits than in years past.

“For our entry level fire wages, we offer a nationally pretty competitive wage, and we also, out of the current pay plan, have the opportunity to apply what we call a differential pay, so an additional compensation for firefighters engaged in some of the difficult and dangerous work associated with firefighting, and we're really excited to provide them that opportunity,” he said.

Frampton said the State of Montana was grateful to have access to other resources to help fight fires in the summer of 2024.

The State of Montana was Grateful for Many Other Firefighting Resources

“What the additional resources allowed us to do is to bring in some resources that we typically don't have available to us to help ensure that we were as quickly and safely as possible putting out fires. So by us in Montana having additional resources available to us, we didn't have to rely on as much of the national system to bring those resources to be able to put out fires in the state.”

Frampton praised the legislature for passing HB 883 in the 2023 session that allocated $60 million to “expand the state’s wildfire preparedness and forest management efforts.”

Looking Back at One of Montana's Most Explosive Fires

The 2013 Lolo Creek Fire burned within 6 miles of Missoula

Gallery Credit: Dennis Bragg

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