Ravalli County Sheriff's Office

10/23/2026

Excited to learn more about prescribed fire? Join us at our next meeting and be a part of the conversation.

10/09/2026

🔥Prescribed Burning Update Oct. 9🔥
Please continue to monitor this page as conditions evolve.

📌Piquett Creek Prescribed Burn Project Area
Firing operations on the Piquett Creek project area are completed. Firefighters will be mopping up (extinguishing any remaining hot spots) and patrolling today.

📌Cameron Gap Prescribed Burn Project Area
Firefighters will be using hand ignitions within the Cameron Creek Prescribed Burn Project Area today. Firefighters will plan for 100 acres to clean up unburned pockets. Mop-up (extinguishing hot spots) and patrol will begin by the end of shift today.
To see locations, please check out InciWeb at https://inciweb.wildfire.gov/incident-information/mtbrf-piquett-creek-planned-prescribed-burn and https://inciweb.wildfire.gov/incident-information/mtbrf-cameron-gap-prescribed-burn-project-area

To read more about fall planned prescribed burning, please visit https://www.fs.usda.gov/.../bitterroot-national-forest...

For additional resources related to reduce smoke exposure, please visit montanawildfiresmoke.org/
Please check local air quality at fire.airnow.gov/

Ravalli County Sheriff's Office
Ravalli County Office of Emergency Management
Fire In the Root
Darby Rural Fire Department
Sula Rural Fire District
Montana Department of Environmental Quality
Montana DNRC

📸Mop-up (extinguishing remaining hot spots) and patrol begins in the Piquett Creek Prescribed Burn Area today, Oct. 9, and after shift today in the Cameron Gap area.

10/08/2026

🔥Prescribed burning scheduled to continue today 🔥
Please continue to monitor this page as conditions evolve.

Today, Oct. 8, firing operations are planned in the Piquett Creek and Cameron Gap Project Areas. To see these areas, please visit https://experience.arcgis.com/experience/4ac726fda3434b40bf59a127f1ddf380

📌Piquett Creek Prescribed Burn Project Area
Firefighters will continue to burn within the Piquett Creek project area with both hand and aerial ignitions. So far firefighters accomplished 795 acres within the Piquett Creek Project Area with an additional 750 acres planned for today, Oct. 8. Expect smoke to pool in low lying areas especially in the main Piquett drainage area and along the Hwy 473 corridor (West Fork Road).
A helicopter will be in the area to conduct aerial ignitions.

⚠ Please note that the East Piquett road will remain temporarily closed while aerial ignitions take place. This temporary closure is to ensure public and firefighter safety.

📌Cameron Gap Prescribed Burn Project Area
Firefighters will continue firing operations within the Cameron Creek Prescribed Burn Project Area using hand and aerial ignitions.
About 1,200 acres were accomplished Oct. 7 and 1,000 acres are planned today, Oct. 8. No closures are planned. County officials are aware. Please do not report.
Smoke will be visible.
One of the many reasons firefighters conduct prescribed fires is to reduce the impacts of negative smoke associated with wildfires. Wildfires can burn hotter, faster, and over much larger areas with poor fuel consumption that can produce dense and long-lasting smoke plumes.
Prescribed burns take into account selected weather conditions for burning, produce lower-intensity fire, and are usually in smaller burn units compared to wildfires. This approach reduces less smoke overall.

Burn bosses look for weather conditions, such as wind direction and speed, atmospheric mixing height, and National Weather Service smoke dispersal indices, that are more suited for productive smoke dispersion.
When wildfires happen in the Bitterroot Valley, smoke can stay trapped for weeks under high pressure weather systems. Smaller amounts of planned smoke now can help reduce months of dangerous wildfire smoke later during those high pressure summer weather events. For additional resources related to reduce smoke exposure, please visit montanawildfiresmoke.org/

Please check local air quality at fire.airnow.gov/

To read more about fall planned prescribed burning, please visit https://www.fs.usda.gov/.../bitterroot-national-forest...

📸A helicopter conducted aerial ignitions Oct. 7 over the Cameron Gap Prescribed Burn area on the Darby-Sula Ranger District. Aerial ignitions will continue in this area.

10/07/2026

🔥Prescribed burning update for the week of Oct. 5 to 11🔥
Please continue to monitor this page as conditions evolve.
Firing operations are planned in two prescribed burn areas on the Bitterroot National Forest this week - Piquett Creek and Cameron Gap Project Areas. To see these areas, please visit https://experience.arcgis.com/.../4ac726fda3434b40bf59a12...

📌Piquett Creek Prescribed Burn Project Area
On Oct. 5, West Fork Ranger District along with the Bitterroot Hotshots completed approximately 30 acres of blacklining (lighting the edge of containment lines to strengthen them). On Oct. 6, firefighters continued to blackline more control features completing 100 acres. Today and tomorrow, Oct. 7 and 8, firefighters will be burning within the Piquett Creek project area with both hand and aerial ignitions. Expect fire vehicles in the Piquett Creek Drainage as well as a helicopter working within the project area.

⚠ Please note that Forest Service Road 731 that goes into East Piquett Creek will be temporarily closed while aerial ignitions take place. This temporary closure is to ensure public and firefighter safety.
Also, fire may be visible in the overnight hours and in addition, expect smoke to sink into low laying areas in the Piquett drainage and possibly around Highway 473 (West Fork Highway).

📌Cameron Gap Prescribed Burn Project Area
Firefighters began hand ignitions the evening of Oct. 5. Operations occurred on the north side of Cameron Creek along Forest Service Roads 1397 and 1398. 36 acres of black line were accomplished. On Tuesday, Oct. 6, 750 acres were accomplished. Today and tomorrow, Oct. 7 and 8, firefighters will continue to burn in the same area using hand and aerial ignitions.

Please check local air quality at fire.airnow.gov/
For resources to reduce smoke exposure, please visit montanawildfiresmoke.org/
Please check the Bitterroot National Forest Interactive Burn Map at https://experience.arcgis.com/.../4ac726fda3434b40bf59a12...
To read more about fall planned prescribed burning, please visit https://www.fs.usda.gov/.../bitterroot-national-forest...

Ravalli County Sheriff's Office
Ravalli County Office of Emergency Management
Montana Department of Environmental Quality
Fire In the Root
Montana DNRC
Darby Rural Fire Department
Sula Rural Fire District

📸Firefighters create blackline on the Piquett Creek Prescribed Burn Project Area Oct. 5 and 6. Blacklining helps strengthen containment lines minimizing any potential spots in unwanted areas.

10/05/2026

The Bitterroot National Forest will be conducting prescribed burning operations in the West Fork and East Fork areas this week. If you see smoke in these areas, this is likely the source. Please see their links below for full information:

🔥 Prescribed Burning Scheduled for the Week of Oct. 5, 2026 🔥
Please stay tuned and continue to monitor this page for changes as conditions evolve.

Firing operations are planned in two prescribed burn areas on the Bitterroot National Forest - Piquett Creek and Cameron Gap Project Areas. To see these areas, please visit https://experience.arcgis.com/experience/4ac726fda3434b40bf59a127f1ddf380

📌Piquett Creek Prescribed Burn Project Area
The West Fork Ranger District, along with other personnel from the Bitterroot National Forest, will be looking at conducting prescribed fire activities in the Piquett Creek Project area starting on Monday, Oct. 5, and continuing each day for the rest of the week.

During operational periods, people should expect increased vehicle traffic and smoke to settle in low laying areas along the Piquett Creek corridor and Highway 473.
🚧 Signs will be in place at the Conner cutoff junction with Hwy 473, at the Trapper Creek Job Corps Center, the mouth of Piquett Creek and south along Hwy 473 near the West Fork Volunteer Fire Department.
No closures are expected during hand ignitions. Expect some delays along forest roads in the Piquett area during operations.
Please also visit InciWeb at https://inciweb.wildfire.gov/incident-information/mtbrf-piquett-creek-planned-prescribed-burn

📌Cameron Gap Prescribed Burn Project Area
Firefighters may begin hand ignitions the evening of Oct. 5. Operations are planned to begin on the north side of Cameron Creek along Forest Service Roads 1397 and 1398. 300 acres are planned on Monday. Aerial ignitions using a helitorch (an aerial ignition device — hung or mounted under a helicopter) are planned on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. The goal for this area is 2,500 acres.
🚧 Signs will be in place as well as road guards. Expect a lot of fire resources in the area so please use caution when in this location.
Please check local air quality at fire.airnow.gov/
For resources to reduce smoke exposure, please visit montanawildfiresmoke.org/

Please check the Bitterroot National Forest Interactive Burn Map at https://experience.arcgis.com/.../4ac726fda3434b40bf59a12...

Or InciWeb at https://inciweb.wildfire.gov/mtbrf-cameron-gap-prescribed-burn-project-area
County officials are aware of this burn. Please do not report.

To read more about fall planned prescribed burning, please visit https://www.fs.usda.gov/.../bitterroot-national-forest...

Ravalli County Sheriff's Office
Ravalli County Office of Emergency Management
Fire In the Root
Montana Department of Environmental Quality
Montana DNRC

📸Why we conduct prescribed burns ... This is a current picture of the Como Horse Lick Prescribed Burn Project Area. It was burned in 2024. It shows the reduction of ladder and surface fuels, which helps to reduce fire intensity and increases probability of success during initial attack in the event of a wildfire.

10/01/2026

BURN PERMIT SERVICE RESTORED

Our Burn Permit Service has now been restored. You may now use the Burn Permit Website or phone number to activate your Burn Permits. We ask that you not contact our Dispatch Center to inquire about this outage. If you continue to encounter problems with your Burn Permit, you may contact the Office of Emergency Management at 406-375-6655.

09/28/2026

ℹ Forest Service Road 720 is Now Open ℹ

Suppression repair work is completed on Forest Service Road 720. The road is now open for public use. However, please use caution when traveling on this road due to Forest Service personnel working in the area.

A reminder of other open roads:
As of Sept. 1, 2026, Lost Horse Road, (Forest Service Road 429) is open.
As of Sept. 15, 2026, Forest Service Road 711 is open.
FS Road 75 is open.
MT Highway 38 (Skalkaho Hwy.) is open.
Ravalli County Sheriff's Office
Ravalli County Office of Emergency Management
Fire In the Root

09/24/2026

09/22/2026

The Ravalli County Sheriff and County Attorney Offices continues to investigate and prosecute the juvenile assault that happened in the Stevensville area on September 13th. The victim and his family in this case are aware of the overwhelming social media coverage, specifically on Facebook. The family and the RCSO are very concerned about the negative and violent rhetoric being posted and commented on. The family’s wishes are to “not fight violence with violence” and do not want “justice in the wrong form or wrong way”.

The victim and his family want to move forward with healing and forgiveness, and hope that somehow this incident will unite the community and help make sure something like this does not occur again.

Again, the investigation is ongoing and the RCSO asks that anyone with information contact the RCSO at 406-363-3033 or use the submit a tip function on the RCSO app for smart devices. We urge everyone to refrain from forwarding or believing everything that is posted on social media and to rely on trusted media sources and official criminal justice agencies for information.

The victim and his family are very grateful for the support and empathy shown by most of our community. They ask for continued prayers because that “is the best medicine.”

Sheriff Steve Holton asks that the family's wishes be respected and urges anyone with information on the case to contact the RCSO at the above contacts.

09/22/2026

🔥Fall Prescribed Burning Begins on the Bitterroot National Forest 🔥

The Stevensville Ranger District, in partnership with Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks, will be conducting up to 500 acres of prescribed burning Sept. 22 and 23 in the Threemile Creek State Wildlife Management Area located 11 miles northeast of Stevensville and north of Wheelbarrow Creek.

This fuels reduction project was coordinated with FWP to burn understory units which were previously thinned to promote wildlife habitat.

This burn will be done with hand ignitions over two days. On the third day, firefighters will transition to mop-up (extinguishing any remaining hot spots). Once the fire is secured, crews will continue to patrol the area.

Smoke will be visible from the Threemile, Ambrose, Stevensville and Florence areas. No closures are scheduled with this burn. Please check the Bitterroot National Forest Interactive Burn Map at https://experience.arcgis.com/experience/4ac726fda3434b40bf59a127f1ddf380

County officials are aware of this burn.

To read more about fall planned prescribed burning, please visit the Bitterroot National Forest website at https://www.fs.usda.gov/r01/bitterroot/newsroom/releases/bitterroot-national-forest-plans-conduct-fall-prescribed-burns

For updates, please also check https://www.facebook.com/DiscoverBitterrootNF
And Inciweb at https://inciweb.wildfire.gov/mtbrf-threemile-creek-prescribed-burn

Ravalli County Sheriff's Office
Ravalli County Office of Emergency Management
Fire In the Root