Montana residents subsidizing costs for high

Smoke from wildfires makes for an eerie sunset at Montana Fair in Billings on August 17, 2021. (Photo by Darrell Ehrlick of the Daily Montanan).

Despite larger and hotter wildfires resulting from our warming climate and a century of excessive fire suppression, residential development in fire-prone areas is increasing exponentially. Much of Montana’s growing population is moving into high-risk areas such as the wildland urban interface (WUI), where every new home presents huge safety risks for people and property. The rapid expansion of the WUI is creating significant challenges for our firefighters, public officials and land managers, and poses enormous costs to protect vulnerable homes when fires inevitably occur.

Agency responsibility to protect property has increased significantly dur