(MALTA)– Bureau of Land Management fuels program specialists started burning piles of woody material on Tuesday, in the Little Rocky Mountains.
The Zortman-Landusky Mine pile burn is located in Phillips County, approximately 3 miles northwest of Zortman, along the Antoine Butte Road.
The work area covers 17 acres and contains about 300 piles. A majority of the woody fuels piles at this location were burned during early spring 2025. Because of snowpack at the time, the remaining piles were unable to be successfully burned, so the North Central Montana District fuels program team is returning to finish the job.
Ignition operations are anticipated to last one work shift, depending on fuel moisture and weather conditions. Smoke may persist for several days after ignition is completed, and may be visible from Zortman and the Highway 191 corridor. Patrols of the burn area will occur until the piles are declared out.
This fuels-treatment project will help reduce conifer fuel loading, create a fuel break to protect communications infrastructure located on Antoine Butte, and support any future wildfire suppression efforts.
