BOZEMAN — Montana’s rivers are still running high and cold this spring — and while that’s good news for fish, it poses serious risks for recreators.

Even with a lighter-than-average snowpack, river conditions across the state remain hazardous. Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks is urging anyone planning to get on the water to prepare carefully, know current conditions, and understand every hazard along the full length of their route before launching.

WATCH: Montana’s rivers are still running high and cold this spring — even with lighter snowpack. Before you hit the water, FWP says preparation could save your life

Spring runoff on Montana rivers poses serious safety risks

Morgan Jacobsen of Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks pointed to specific locations as examples of the dangers that can catch people off guard.

“The Highway 89 Bridge has some, you know, particular dangers at that site with the pylons of the bridge, and that’s caused problems for people before, so knowing your trip and knowing what hazards exist as best you can, doing that research is always a good idea,” Jacobsen said.

Spring runoff serves an important ecological function for Montana’s fisheries, acting as a kind of seasonal reset for rivers and streams.

“Flooding plays an important ecological function. It washes out sediment and provides new, clean gravels that are important for fish spawning. Creates new habitat for a variety of species, and it’s a good thing, but when it comes to recreation, it’s something you’ve got to be careful with,” Jacobsen said.

FWP is not discouraging people from getting on the water, but the agency is emphasizing that safety planning must come first — especially during high water.

“We’re not saying people can’t come on the water by any means, and you know, especially in high flooding conditions, and because of those dangers, it’s not recommended, but if you are going to recreate, you know, you’re doing it at your own risk. Make sure that you take precautions so that you can make it home safely,” Jacobsen said.

Anyone heading out on Montana’s rivers this spring should check current conditions, know their route, carry and wear a personal flotation device, and be prepared for water that was snow just minutes before entering the river.

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I filmed on a burn on Harmony Ridge, above Nevada City yesterday with a newish private company called ‘[First Rain Land Stewardship](https://www.firstrainlandstewardship.com/)’. They run a thinning crew out of Nevada City and the owner is a CARX California State-Certified Burn Boss. I wanted to cover this burn because with all of the media attention on Cal Fire’s Putah Creek escaped burn last week, and after months of doomer ‘*2026 will be the worst fire season ever*’ reporting, it seems like many people are really anxious about the upcoming season, but that we aren’t really there, yet. Also, I feel like we need to push into burning WHENEVER THE CONDITIONS ARE APPROPRIATE, regardless of calendar dates.

We broadcast burned about 13 acres of mixed conifer that had been thinned last summer by First Rain. They had burned some of the piles last winter, but about 2/3 of the unit still had piles in it. Some of the piles were pretty large, but all of them burned down to the heavies within 10-15 minutes. The woods on the other sides of the property lines were scary-thick with heavy cedar reprod and needlecast manzanita (see photo 2, below)!

We had about 15 people which included the First Rain crew, 4 people from the new Nevada City Fuels Crew (paid out of a local bond measure), one person from the Nevada County RCD, and a couple guys from North San Juan VFD (?). Many of the people on the burn had previous firefighting and logging experience.

It got up into the 90s after lunch, but RHs stayed above 30% and we remained in prescription. There was not much wind or lift, so we got shaded a bit by our own smoke for most of the day. We had roads around about 1/2 of the burn, and a hoselay around the rest. We had 4 or 5 Type VI engines and a couple water trailers. All of the un-roaded lines were well burned-in by the time it heated up in the afternoon.

The duff was dry all the way down to mineral soil, but there was quite a bit of greenery in the forbs and grasses. The terrain was complex, due to lots of old mining disturbance, so they backed fire off all the little ridges between the old gullies, and got really good consumption on the duff and litter. There were a lot of piles in the gullies, and the heat from these may have killed some of the residual trees in the tighter gullies. It was freaking hot in there, and the heat lasted for a long time. It was a reminder that in our heaviest thickets, in places we can’t operate mechanically, removing fuels is really difficult – with the volume of overstocking we are facing in many places, pile burning can result in high mortality, even if you burn in the winter.

One benefit of having all the heat from the piles was that we got good indrafts to the center of the units, and there wasn’t much smoke for the holding crews.

Yesterday was the first day of the burn permit suspension in NEU. This project was done under a land management exemption, signed by the Unit Duty Officer.

SAN JUAN COUNTY, N.M. — Firefighters have contained a fire in San Juan County to 2 acres after it prompted evacuations around 13 miles north of Farmington.

Crews contained the fire to around 2 acres on New Mexico Highway 170, just north of Road 1424. The San Juan County Sheriff’s Office closed the highway while crews flow water to the scene.

San Juan County Fire and Rescue stated there is “a lot of debris” on fire that will continue to burn. There are also power lines down in the area, which will likely close the highway for “an extended period of time.”

They’re asking people to avoid the area and find a way around as evacuations are in place.

According to San Juan County, firefighters are responding with structure fire and wildfire resources. Further details are limited at this time.