Fire season last year cost state up to $240 million in visitor spending

Fires and smoke from wildfires this past summer cost the state up to 800,000 visitors and resulted in a decrease in visitor spending, according to the Institute for Tourism and Recreation Research at the University of Montana.

“The reduction in visitation resulted in a loss of $240.5 million in visitor spending, translating to a 6.8 percent loss in expected annual spending,” said ITRR Economist Jeremy Sage, in a release.

According to the Northern Rockies Coordination Center, fires consumed more than 1.2 million acres of Montana lands. The severity of the fire season led Montana Gov. Steve Bullock to declare a state of emergency in September.

“As extensive and damaging as the 2017 fire season appears to have been, the lives, property, and wildlands lost to the fires and the expense incurred to fight them only tell a portion of the story,” the report notes. “Tourism and outdoor recreation are staples in the Montana economy.”

Nonresidents who visited Montana in July, August and September also indicated impacts from the smoke, according to the report released by the institute last month.

While nearly one-third of those who visited said the smoke wasn’t bad enough to negatively affect them, 10 percent couldn’t do their activities in their preferred location and 7 percent changed where they visited in the state.

Flathead and Missoula counties were most impacted by the visitors’ change in locations. Of the respondents who indicated they had to change where they visited in the state, according to the report, the vast majority had planned to visit destinations in the Flathead — 44 percent — and Missoula — 25 percent — counties. The travelers relocated their travels to 16 different counties across Montana.

Of the activities that respondents said they were unable to do or were hampered due to smoke most responded by saying they weren’t able take scenic drives and go day hiking.

The report notes that the smoke or fire caused some visitors to cancel their trip to Montana. For every 100 visitors that did come to the state, 8.6 individuals canceled their trip. Canceled trips were nearly twice as likely to have occurred in Glacier Country as opposed to any other travel region, the report notes.

In addition to an impact on visitors, the institute says the fires and smoke during the season also impacted residents all over Montana — affecting their livelihoods and quality of life. Seventy-six percent of Montana residents said their community experienced decreased air quality during the 2017 fire season, with the majority of residents living in western — 87 percent — and in southwest Montana — 90 percent — indicating poor air quality.

Sixty-nine percent of adults in Montana said the smoke affected their outdoor activities. This included 90 percent of those respondents saying activities such as hiking and fishing were occasionally or frequently affected and 75 percent who indicated their outdoor fitness activities were impacted due to smoke.

As many as 38 percent of Montanans indicated smoke impacted their travel within the state with 25 percent canceling their travels altogether and 16 percent changing where they traveled in the state.

“These changes in residents’ activities and travel point to an impact to our quality of life,” said ITRR Director Norma Nickerson. “A few years ago, we found that 95 percent of Montanans said that outdoor recreation was important to them and their family’s quality of life. The 2017 fire season greatly challenged that quality of life.”

The study also shows a need for a wide-ranging, action-driven conversation on how Montanans can adapt to fire seasons and build resilient communities and businesses. The expense of fighting fires, the loss of business and resident disillusionment toward their livelihoods during fire season is likely to become more common in the years to come, according to the institute.

To view the ITRR study report, visit https://scholarworks.umt.edu/itrr_pubs/363. All information and reports published by ITRR are available online at http://www.itrr.umt.edu.