Firewise Demonstration Garden
In 2020 a partnership was established with the Montana City Volunteer Fire Department to construct a fire wise landscape garden at fire station 1, just north of the round-about at the Mt. City exit off I-15. Start-up funding was provided by Jefferson County, the Montana Department of Natural Resources & Conservation (DNRC), and the US Forest Service (USFS).
Click to watch short video on the firewise garden.
Drought-tolerant and fire-resistant plants can not only help your property look good but can also help mitigate fire risk. That’s the idea at the Montana City Firewise Demonstration Garden created through a partnership between the Tri-County Firesafe Working Group and the Montana City Volunteer Fire Dept. Folks can visit and get ideas at the garden which is full of around 100 various plants that can be placed on your property all while posing less of a fire risk than other highly flammable plants. Additionally, the garden utilizes gravel pathways and land cover: great for reducing fire risk.
The Montana City firewise garden is an example of efforts to demonstrate methods to reduce risks to the home ignition zone. Fire wise practices include the use of construction materials, landscape design and vegetation that lower wildfire risk around a home. The plants selected for this project are “firewise” or fire resistant, meaning they are less flammable than others and just happen to be drought tolerant and deer resistant! The primary goal of the project is to demonstrate that less flammable vegetation can create attractive landscaping and inspire the property owners to consider fire and drought mitigation at their homes.
Click to access full garden plant list
