Document Type
Report
Publisher
Institute for Tourism and Recreation Research
Publication Date
12-2017
Disciplines
Economics | Leisure Studies
Abstract
Montana, along with many western states, experienced a severe fire season in the summer of 2017. According to the Northern Rockies Coordination Center (NRCC), fires consumed 1,276,456 acres of Montana lands. Nearly half of these lands are U.S. Forest Service owned (Table 1). The severity of the fire season led Montana’s Governor, Steve Bullock, to declare a state of emergency at the beginning of September. At this time, the state had already exceeded the $30 million in its firefighting fund by $14.5 million.1 The NRCC estimates the total costs of fighting Montana’s wildfires topped $390 million.2 The combination of extreme firefighting costs and lower than expected revenues, generated a $200 million shortfall with the state government.3
Rights
© 2017 ITRR
Recommended Citation
Sage, Jeremy L. and Nickerson, Norma P., "The Montana Expression 2017: 2017’s Costly Fire Season" (2017). Institute for Tourism and Recreation Research Publications. 363.
https://scholarworks.umt.edu/itrr_pubs/363
