Building for wildfire in Montana

This report explores the opportunities and solutions for reducing the financial, human, and resource costs that wildfires pose to communities throughout Montana. The report pays particular attention to the challenges and solutions for the wildland-urban interface (WUI), the region where housing and wildlands intersect.

Like much of the West, Montana’s wildfire risk is increasing. While home construction keeps pace with surging population growth, wildfires are becoming more common, destructive, and intense. They’re also lasting longer. These converging trends put more people, property, and businesses in harm’s way. The number of new Montana homes in areas of moderate to high wildfire risk doubled from 1990-2020. Across the state, more than 1,400 structures have been lost to wildfire in the last 15 years and countless first responders have been asked to put their lives on the line to defend them.