Last year, roughly 116,000 acres in Montana burned in wildfires. While this was significantly less than the 1.1 million acres scorched in 2017, which was the most severe wildfire season in recent memory, the unpredictability and potential impact of the state’s wildfire season has left communities and property owners struggling to acquire affordable homeowners insurance.
In the face of an insurance industry ever more reluctant to provide coverage to those living in elevated risk areas, soaring premium costs state-wide, and the increasingly visible impacts of climate change on Montana weather patterns and wildfire behavior, some, like Clancy resident Jeff Chaffee, are taking measures to lower their property’s fire risk profile and improve the insurability of their homes.
With assistance from the Tri-County Firesafe Working Group (TCFWG), a private organization dedicated to preparing Jefferson, Lewis & Clark, and Broadwater Counties for wildfire season, Chaffee arranged for his property to receive a fire mitigation plan, a tailored program that aims to identify natural and man-made fire risks and outline the interventions necessary to reduce or eliminate them. Through grants from the U.S. Bureau of Land Management, the state Department of Natural Resources, and the American Rescue Plan Act, TCFWG is significantly reducing the financial burden homeowners face in protecting their properties from wildfire.
