Montana Governor Stresses Aggressive Initial Attack on Fires

I just caught up with Montana Governor Greg Gianforte (R-MT) on Friday morning in Columbia Falls during the Montana Chamber of Commerce event. While at the Governor's Cup, we talked wildfires- as the governor stressed an aggressive initial attack strategy.

Gov. Gianforte: We've adopted an aggressive attack on all fires, I was really proud of the state folks at DNRC and local officials. Last year, we kept 95% of the fires under our control to under 10 acres. And it's a lot easier to fight a weenie roast than it is one of these huge conflagrations that we see when things get out of control.

While parts of Southwest, Central and Southeast Montana received a lot of moisture earlier this summer, Northwest Montana is much more dry. The Governor referenced that info from a recent briefing he received from the state's top fire officials.

Gov. Gianforte: We're overly dry. We are in formal drought conditions up here (Northwest Montana). So the woods are dry. So far this year 87% of the fires that have started in Montana have been human caused. So don't drag the chains. Make sure your campfires are out if you even are allowed to have a campfire now and just be careful when you're out in the woods.

Here's audio of our chat with Governor Gianforte in the first half of the below podcast: