Governor Gianforte Surveys Horse Gulch Fire in Helena

Receives report from incident command on 13,299 acre fire

• July 16 2024

HELENA, Mont. – Governor Greg Gianforte today received a briefing from incident command on the Horse Gulch Fire and surveyed the fire area with Department of Natural Resources and Conservation (DNRC) officials.

“To support the U.S. Forest Service, firefighters and personnel are working tirelessly to suppress the fire, establish and expand containment lines, and protect lives and property,” Gov. Gianforte said. “Today, it was great to hear from incident command about the progress made in combatting the Horse Gulch Fire.”

Gov. Gianforte receiving a briefing on the Horse Gulch Fire in Helena

The Horse Gulch Fire is impacting the community of York, Montana, with nearly 500 homes and more than 400 people at risk. The fire started Tuesday, July 9, 2024, and to date has burned more than 13,299 acres and is 10 percent contained. 

A Northern Rockies Complex Incident Management Team is responding and DNRC fire staff continues to monitor fire conditions and resource availability.

In the briefing from incident command today, the governor heard of the progress fighting the fire. As of the governor’s briefing, the southern perimeter of the fire had been strengthened. Incident command informed the governor that next steps for containing the fire included addressing the northern perimeter through backburning.

“In order to fight a wildfire like the Horse Gulch Fire, it requires multiple agencies and resources to coordinate successful fire suppression efforts,” DNRC Director Amanda Kaster said. “DNRC stands ready and able to assist partners as we work through this fire and others across Montana.”

Last spring, the governor signed House Bill 883 into law allocating $60 million over the biennium to significantly increase the pace and scale of management practices that improve forest health, reduce wildfire risk, and increase wildfire preparedness. House Bill 883 has allowed DNRC to bring on additional resources to double the amount of wildfire aircraft available to Montana.

On Sunday, Gov. Gianforte secured a Fire Management Assistance Grant (FMAG) from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to assist with costs associated with fighting the Horse Gulch Fire burning in Lewis & Clark and Broadwater counties.

The FMAG makes FEMA funding available to pay 75 percent of the state’s eligible firefighting costs. Eligible costs include materials and supplies, mobilization and demobilization, equipment use, aviation use for firefighting and expenses for field camps. These grants do not provide assistance for individual home or business owners and do not cover other infrastructure damage caused by the fire.

Additionally, each FMAG generates over $950,000 in federal mitigation funding to reduce the risk of future life and property loss from future disasters. Montana DES manages this funding.

For more information on the Horse Gulch Fire, including daily updates, visit the InciWeb site here.

For current fire information across Montana, including tips on preparedness, fire prevention and restrictions visit mtfireinfo.org.