MISSOULA, Mont.— The Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation (DNRC) Missoula Unit plans to conduct pile burning today, Oct. 16, on approximately 7 acres of state trust lands located four miles north of Ravenna in Clinton. The burn will proceed pending fuel moisture, weather, and air quality conditions. Additional pile burns are planned through Dec. 2025 as conditions allow.
The burn piles are slash generated from timber harvest and forest improvement projects on trust lands. The primary objectives include reducing slash from forest management activities and preparing planting sites and seedbeds to promote regeneration and nutrient recycling.
All burning activities are coordinated with the Montana Department of Environmental Quality and the Montana/Idaho Airshed Group to reduce the impacts of smoke. Residents should expect visible smoke during and after burn operations. Please do not call 911.
Safety remains DNRC’s highest priority. DNRC will monitor conditions closely to minimize smoke impacts and ensure safe burning. If conditions are not favorable, ignition will not take place. DNRC personnel will continue to monitor the piles following ignition to ensure that they are contained. Temporary closures may be implemented during burning activities and notices will be posted in the area as appropriate.
DNRC plans to conduct additional pile burns, as condition allow, through Dec. 2025 across 18 trust land units in the Potomac Valley, Cramer Creek-Clinton corridor east of Missoula, St. Regis and Haugan areas (including Timber and Tamarack creeks) and near Garnet Ghost Town. Units range in size from 5 to 364 acres.
The acreage listed for each location refers to the total area to be treated, typically over a series of days, and not the amount of material that will be burned.
DNRC manages Montana’s forested state trust lands to generate long-term sustainable revenue to benefit educational institutions, while promoting healthy, resilient and diverse forests for future generations.
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