POTOMAC — Firefighters from across Montana gathered in the Blackfoot Valley for specialized training on prescribed burns as part of Wildfire Awareness Month.
Seeing smoke on the horizon can be jarring for many Montanans, but this time of year, that smoke isn't always cause for alarm.
"The public probably knows that we're in a wildfire crisis right now," said Mike Schaedel, Forest Restoration & Partnership Manager at The Nature Conservancy.
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Schaedel pointed out concerning trends in wildfire behavior, "We're seeing fires increase in size and intensity and frequency over our lifetimes and over historic norms."
Experts say one solution to this growing problem might seem counterintuitive— more fire, but the controlled kind.
"Ironically, one of the best tools we have to decrease the intensity and the size of wildfires is fire itself. We can't get out of the situation we're in without more fire," said Schaedel.
Prescribed burns are strategically used to reduce fuels that could otherwise feed wildfires. But there's more to the practice than just prevention.
"Ponderosa pine ecosystems, but really every ecosystem in Montana and across the West evolved with fire, and that included human ignitions," said Blackfoot Challenge Forestry & Prescribed Fire Coordinator Cindy Super.
Super explained that land managers increasingly use carefully controlled burns to maintain forest health by working with natural systems.
The Blackfoot Valley Prescribed Fire Training Exchange (TREX), brought dozens of participants together for two weeks of hands-on burning and learning in the Potomac and Greenough areas.
"We've got federal agencies, state agencies, local government, tribes, nonprofits, even some private contractors," said Schaedel.
This collaborative approach builds crucial relationships across organizations.
"It's about building those relationships. So when we go back to wherever our home units are, we know there's somebody across the state that we can reach out to if we have questions," said Schaedel.
The training aims to inspire a new generation of prescribed fire practitioners.
"I had somebody say I found what I want to do with my life, and that was pretty cool. It's really encouraging that people were able to come here to see this, to see how we do this here, and I hope that they take home a passion for prescribed fire," said Super.
While similar trainings happen worldwide, this marks Montana's first TREX event, with organizers hoping for many more.
"It's the stone soup model of fire training. The idea is that everyone brings something, everyone is a learner and everyone is a teacher, from the person who spent 40 years on the fire line and has risen to the top of their organization. To the person who just put on Nomex two weeks ago for the first time," said Schaedel.
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