DNRC braces for 2026 fire season, selects two shared‑stewardship landscapes

Amanda Castor, director of the Department of Natural Resources and Conservation, told the Environmental Quality Council that DNRC is preparing for a potentially active 2026 wildfire season while continuing investments in suppression capacity and collaborative forest health projects.

"We will again have modernized detection and coordination aircraft, 2 large type 1 helicopters, additional hand crews and contract engines," Castor said, describing equipment and staffing DNRC expects to deploy for the season.

Castor reviewed 2025 statistics — 2,424 wildfires burned about 75,099 acres, with 94% of fires kept to 10 acres or less — and said early 2026 conditions warrant close monitoring: "As of today, we have had more than 200 fires that have already burned over 10,000 acres." She cautioned that low snowpack in some areas increases uncertainty for summer fire risk.

The department announced two landscapes selected under the federal‑state shared stewardship work: about 213,910 acres across the Flathead and Kootenai National Forests and roughly 200,000 acres within the Bitterroot National Forest. Castor described the selection as the first initiatives under the Good Neighbor Authority to coordinate treatments, protect infrastructure and reduce wildfire risk across ownership boundaries.

Senators and council members pressed DNRC for details on federal cost recovery, helicopter contracts and post‑fire revegetation. Sean Thomas, DNRC trust lands division administrator, explained that DNRC handles fire‑line rehabilitation and seeding as part of suppression activity and that additional restoration may be pursued through other divisions or grant programs.

The DNRC presentation emphasized preparation: upgrades to helicopter safety and performance, enhanced situational awareness tools, hiring and training, and interagency coordination with the Forest Service and federal partners. Castor urged landowners to review preparedness guidance at mtfireinfo.org and highlighted opportunities for county field trips to facilities such as Canyon Ferry and Hauser Dam for council members.

The council asked for follow‑up information on specific budgets, contracts and anticipated federal reimbursements; DNRC staff offered to provide numerical details after the meeting.