← Montana burn ban rules›Current Fire Restrictions
Montana Current Fire Restrictions (2026)
Conditional: Montana issues fire restrictions per land-management unit (county, national forest, BLM district, FWP site) — there is no single statewide Stage, and the Stage can differ between landowner classes inside the same county.
Montana issues fire restrictions per land-management unit (county, national forest, BLM district, FWP site) — there is no single statewide Stage, and the Stage can differ between landowner classes inside the same county. Montana DNRC's official Active Fire Restrictions layer, last edited August 19, 2026, shows 26 jurisdictional units at STAGE 2 and 75 at STAGE 1, with no closures. Stage 2 units fall in Granite, Missoula, Mineral and Ravalli counties; Stage 1 units fall in Big Horn, Stillwater, Jefferson, Beaverhead, Powell, Hill, Phillips, Roosevelt, Wheatland, Carter, Richland, Lake and Mineral counties. Mineral County is split — Stage 2 on most ownerships but Stage 1 on state non-forested land — so confirm the exact unit, not just the county. Under Stage 1: no building, maintaining or using a campfire except in an agency-provided ring at a developed recreation site, and no smoking except inside a vehicle or building, at a developed site, or while stopped in a cleared area at least 3 feet across; devices fueled solely by LPG/propane with a shut-off valve are allowed. Federal units set their own orders: the Lolo National Forest is at Stage 2 under Order 26-016-Lolo, effective 12:01 a.m. August 6, 2026 and running until December 1, 2026 or until rescinded, which additionally prohibits welding or an open-flame torch and operating an internal combustion engine on National Forest System land (the Bob Marshall Wilderness Complex is excepted); BLM's Western Montana District has a Stage I order covering all BLM land in Beaverhead County effective 12:01 a.m. August 12, 2026 until rescinded. Year-round wildland baseline: no fireworks, no exploding or binary targets, no tracer or steel-core ammunition, and internal-combustion engines need a working spark arrestor. Confirm your exact county and land unit on the interagency map before any open flame.
Check the live restriction status: mtdnrc.maps.arcgis.com →
General legal information, not legal advice — verify important decisions with a licensed attorney.
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