Aggressive attacks on fires money well spent

The aggressive initial attack and continued flow of resources that saved those homes reflects back to Gov. Greg Gianforte’s commitment to do whatever it takes to extinguish all wildfires in the state this summer, whether they’re on state or federal forestland, tribal reservations or wilderness areas.

“In Montana, we do not, and will not, have a ‘let it burn’ policy,” the Republican governor told land managers at a fire briefing in early May.

Of course, such aggressive attacks don’t come cheap.

The average annual cost for fire suppression in the state was about $23.3 million over the last decade. The Elmo and Redhorn fires alone have eaten away half of that amount in just two quick weeks.