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MISSOULA- Fire managers and air quality officials with the Missoula County Fire Protection Association have been at work this winter getting ready for open burning season.

One big change on the way for residents of Missoula County who want to burn leaves, brush, fields, or slash piles will be the launch of an online burn permit system that's slated for March 1st.

Missoula County, which issues between 5,000 and 8,000 burn permits in a year, will join several other counties in Montana with this more efficient way to issue and monitor burn permits.

Officials say in a news release that by moving to an online permitting system the process for obtaining a permit will be streamlined and become more user-friendly.

Anyone can get their permit at any time, even on the day they want to burn while residents without their own computer can still go into a fire station or the health department in order to get their permit.

The system will also streamline information sharing between fire departments and dispatch centers, but it does come with a cost.

Each permit will be $5 with the cost going to pay for the set-up of the system and the administrative fee for each permit. For people who will have several burn piles in multiple locations, only one $5 permit is required but the person must indicate where all the piles are located.

Fire officials say there are three categories of burn permits available in Missoula County: General, Essential Agriculture, and Prescribed Wildland. The descriptions are noted below.

• General - This permit expires August 31st of each year. General cleanup of untreated vegetative waste that does not include trade waste. All materials must be generated onsite. NOTE: In the Air Stagnation Zone, piles of grass or deciduous leaves may not be disposed of through outdoor burning.
• Essential Agriculture - This permit expires on October 31st of each year. Outdoor burning conducted on a farm or ranch to eliminate excess vegetative matter from an irrigation ditch or cultivated fields, or to improve range conditions or wildlife habitat. Agricultural burning should only be conducted when no reasonable alternative methods of disposal are available.
• Prescribed Wildland - This permit expires November 30th of each year. Planned outdoor burning that is conducted on forest land or relatively undeveloped range land to improve wildlife habitat or range conditions, promote forest regeneration, reduce fire hazards resulting from forestry practices, control forest pests and diseases, or promote any other accepted silvicultural practices.

People with questions or comments are encouraged to contact Sarah Coefield with the Missoula City-County Health Department at (406) 258.3642 or MCFPA spokeswoman Cindy Super at (406) 542.4321.

Questions can also be answered by clicking here and a practice website for getting the permit will be ready in late February with the active website ready by March 1, 2012. The site will be at www.burnpermit.mt.gov.