Burning in Montana

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Burning in Montana
Preseason burn list submitted for MT DEQ burn
permit. All burns input to AMS web page. Propose
burns by noon mountain time, on the day before
the burn is to be lit. Check website for burn
approval recommendation. After burning, report
accomplishment (acres) back to AMS.
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Airshed Management System
Links
www.smokemu.org
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AMS User Guide Link
Click on the Links shortcut to access more
info.
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AMS User Guide Link
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AMS Log In
Burn Report to get to log in screen
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AMS Log In Page
Pulldown menus will walk you through selecting
your Agency, Office and Password. The Message
banner is updated as needed to pass information
along to all burners.
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Enter Preseason Burns
This is the complete list of your planned
burning, submitted to DEQ in January of each year
(we get another opportunity to revisit this list
in August). Each burn will be assigned a unique
number by the application. This number stays with
the burn through its entire lifetime, and into
the archive. Fill this in completely for each
burn you plan to do. BE ACCURATE! This
information is the historical file for this burn.
Double check your work.
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Propose Burns
Burns are proposed by noon mountain time, on the
day before burn is to be lit. Be realistic on
your proposal. Dont over-propose. Itll work
against you. Consider using the A or B priorities
for your burns. The A burns are those that you
would prefer to get approved, while, if those
arent approved, the B burns would suffice.
Except before weekends and holidays.
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Propose Burns
You must also consider Holidays when submitting.
.
Submit on Friday for burns on Saturday, Sunday
and Monday
Labor Day
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Propose Burns
This is your preseason list.select the burn or
burns you want to propose.
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Propose Burns
The three blocks require a value be entered. You
can select from the Proposed Dates field and
propose the same burn a number of times. Once
complete, just hit the Propose button and you
will get a confirmation.
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Approved Burns
As soon as noon has come and gone, the Smoke Unit
can begin looking at the proposed burn list. The
Meteorologist provides dispersion forecast to the
Program Coordinator, who makes the
recommendations. During the fall burn season,
this recommendation goes to MT DEQ, who is the
only entity with approving authority. Burns are
approved for the following day (or over the
weekend) and are available for viewing in AMS by
4PM mountain time.
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Report Daily Burns
AMS will require that you report your
accomplished acres on the day after any burn has
been approved. You cannot propose new burns until
these are reported on. If the burn was not
attempted, enter a zero for acres. Once a burn
has been completed (acres burned equals acres
preseason), it is removed from the pulldown list
and is no longer available for proposing.
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Burn Restrictions
View restrictions, if any, from the link on the
AMS (smokemu.org) main page. Restrictions can
vary from elevational restrictions, restrictions
by burn type, or possibly a no burning
recommendation. These are done at the same time
as approvals, and posted by 4 PM mountain time.
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Burn Restrictions
The dispersion forecast is also posted here, and
may help you with your proposal choices.
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Winter Burning
Winter burning in Montana is accomplished
separately from the Smoke Monitoring Unit,
although tracked through AMS just like any other
burning. Any proposals for these winter burns
must be submitted to the Member Representative
for screening, during the month of October, then
compiled and forwarded to the Monitoring Unit (to
minimize the impact on MT DEQ). MT DEQ will make
any approvals and reply to the Member Reps. This
burning then can be proposed as any other burning
is and accomplishment reported in AMS.
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Other Information
Access to air quality information, weather
information, Airshed Group files and the like are
also available from the Links page. Smoke
Monitoring phone is [phone], email is
smu_at_smokemu.org