City Creates 1,500 Slash Piles on Mt. Helena for Safety
City crews piled roughly 1,500 bundles of cut material on Mt. Helena above LeGrande Cannon Boulevard following tree thinning on a 36 acre open lands project. The piles will be allowed to dry and then burned under the prescribed burning window, a step officials say will reduce wildfire risk for neighborhoods on Helena's western and southern flanks.
On December 18, 2025, city open lands crews completed tree thinning and pruning on a 36 acre tract above LeGrande Cannon Boulevard that produced roughly 1,500 slash piles. The work was part of a planned wildfire mitigation project intended to reduce fuel loads on Mt. Helena, with follow up actions scheduled to lower the immediate fire hazard to nearby neighborhoods.
City open lands manager Brad Langsather described the piles as an interim measure, created to allow cut material to dry before it is burned under a controlled prescription. Burns are planned to occur during the official burning window, which runs from December 1 through March 1, when conditions and approvals permit safe ignition. Langsather emphasized that the treated area with piled material presents a lower hazard than the pre treatment stand of overgrown trees and brush.
The project sits within a broader strategy that includes ongoing mitigation across Mt. Helena and Mt. Ascension city open lands. For local residents, the most immediate implications will be visual and seasonal. The piles will remain visible until crews are able to conduct prescribed burns, and smoke may be noticeable on burn days, though timing will depend on weather, air quality conditions, and mandatory approvals from fire and air quality authorities.
Longer term, the thinning work and planned burns aim to reduce the risk of extreme wildfire behavior that threatens homes and infrastructure on the western and southern flanks of Helena. Reducing dense ladder fuels and thinning crowded stands can change fire behavior, improving the chances for successful suppression and lowering the likelihood of fast moving crown fires that pose the greatest danger to communities.
City managers said mitigation work will continue across the open lands portfolio in coming months and years, as part of a sustained approach to community wildfire resilience. Residents with concerns about visible piles, smoke on burn days, or access near project areas are encouraged to contact city open lands staff for updates and safety information.
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