The Montana Buyer's Guide to Fireplaces, Fire Pits and Fire Features
Updated: 5 days ago
In Montana, a fireplace is not just decoration. It is where everyone ends up after a day on the ski hill, the spot that takes the edge off a January inversion, and the reason your patio gets used in October instead of sitting empty until June. Outside, a fire pit or fire table can stretch a short Montana outdoor season by months.
But "fireplace" covers a lot of ground. Gas, wood, pellet, electric, ethanol, indoor, outdoor, inserts, freestanding, built-in. And if you live in or around Missoula, there is an extra layer: some of the strictest wood-burning rules in the country.
This guide walks through every major fuel type, what each one is good (and not so good) at, the rules Missoula homeowners need to know, and how to convert an old wood fireplace to gas with an insert.
Understanding Your Fireplace Needs
Before diving into the specifics of different fireplace types, we should clarify our needs.
What is the Fire for?
Is it for primary or backup heat, ambiance, or both? A fireplace you run for two hours on a Friday night is a very different purchase from one that heats your main floor all winter.
Where is it Going?
Is it indoors (new build, remodel, or an existing fireplace), or outdoors (patio, deck, pergola, outdoor kitchen)?
Where Do You Live?
Your address decides what you are allowed to install. Inside the Missoula Air Stagnation Zone, new wood stoves are off the table. More on that below.
Fireplace and Fire Feature Types Compared
Gas (Natural Gas or Propane)
Gas is the most popular choice for Montana homeowners today, and for good reason.
How it works: A burner fed by a natural gas line or a propane tank produces a real flame over ceramic logs, stones, or fire glass. Most indoor models are direct vent, meaning they pull combustion air from outside and exhaust through a sealed vent, so the room air stays clean.
Benefits:
Flip a switch, use a remote, or set a thermostat. No hauling wood, no ash, no smoke.
Direct vent gas fireplaces and inserts are efficient heaters, and many keep working in a power outage.
Allowed inside the Missoula Air Stagnation Zone, where new wood stoves are not.
Huge design range: traditional log sets, modern linear fireplaces, see-through units, fire tables, and fire pits.
Outdoors, gas fire pits and fire tables are ready in seconds and shut off instantly, which matters on a windy fire-season evening.
Tradeoffs:
Needs a gas line (natural gas) or a propane tank, which adds to installation cost.
You lose the crackle and smell of real wood.
Requires annual service to keep the burner, pilot, and venting working properly.
Natural gas vs. propane: If your home already has natural gas service, a natural gas fireplace is usually the cheapest to run, and you never run out. Propane is the go-to for rural properties without a gas line or for outdoor fire features where running a line is impractical. Many units come in either version, and some can be converted with a kit.
Best for: Missoula-area homeowners who want convenient, clean heat and ambiance, and anyone who wants an outdoor fire feature they can use without a fire permit or a woodpile.
Wood Burning (Fireplaces and Wood Stoves)
How it works: Split firewood burns in an open masonry fireplace, a factory-built firebox, or a closed wood stove or insert.
Benefits:
Nothing matches the crackle, smell, and look of a real wood fire.
A modern EPA-certified wood stove is a serious heat source and works with no power at all.
Firewood is plentiful and affordable in much of Montana, especially for rural homeowners who cut their own.
Tradeoffs:
Heavily regulated in and around Missoula (see the rules section below).
Open masonry fireplaces are beautiful but inefficient. Much of the heat goes straight up the chimney.
Hauling, splitting, stacking, and storing wood, plus ash cleanup.
Needs regular chimney sweeping to prevent creosote buildup and chimney fires.
Best for: Rural properties outside the Air Stagnation Zone, cabins, and homeowners who want off-grid backup heat and do not mind the work.
Pellet Stoves and Inserts
How it works: Small compressed wood pellets feed from a hopper into a burn pot by an electric auger. A fan circulates the heat.
Benefits:
Very clean burning. Commercially manufactured pellet stoves are one of the few solid fuel appliances allowed to be installed inside the Missoula Air Stagnation Zone, and they can stay in place when a home is sold.
Thermostat control and long burn times from a single hopper fill.
A renewable fuel with a real wood-fire feel at a lower emissions level than cordwood.
Tradeoffs:
Needs electricity to run. No power means no heat unless you have a battery backup or generator.
Bags of pellets need dry storage space.
More moving parts (auger, fans, igniter) means more regular cleaning and maintenance.
The flame is smaller and less dramatic than wood or gas.
Best for: Missoula-area homeowners who want wood heat and low fuel costs within the rules.
Electric Fireplaces
How it works: LED lighting and mirrors create a realistic flame effect, with an optional built-in heater.
Benefits:
Lowest installation cost and easiest to install. Many just plug in, and built-in models only need a dedicated circuit.
No venting, no gas line, no chimney. They can go almost anywhere: bedrooms, basements, condos, media walls.
The flame effect can run without heat, so you can enjoy it in July.
Zero emissions in the home and no burn restrictions, ever.
Tradeoffs:
The heater is supplemental. Most put out about the same heat as a space heater.
No real flame. Today's models look good, but it is still an effect.
Does nothing during a power outage.
Best for: Condos and apartments, rooms where venting is not possible, and homeowners who want the look of a fireplace without the fuel.
Ethanol (Bioethanol) Fireplaces
How it works: Liquid bioethanol burns in a small fuel box and produces a real flame with no chimney or vent.
Benefits:
Real flame with no venting, so it works in spaces where gas or wood cannot go.
Very modern, minimalist designs. Tabletop and wall-mounted versions are available.
Tradeoffs:
Minimal heat. This is ambiance, not a heat source.
Fuel is relatively expensive, has to be refilled by hand, and requires careful handling.
Not the right choice for a primary fireplace in a Montana winter.
Best for: Decorative accents and design-forward spaces.
Outdoor Fire Features
Outdoor fire is what turns a Montana patio into a space you use eight months a year instead of four. Your main options:
Gas fire pits and fire tables. The most popular outdoor choice. Instant on, instant off, no smoke in your eyes, no embers on the deck, and they double as a table surface. Available in natural gas or propane.
Wood burning fire pits. Classic campfire feel. Great on larger rural properties, but check local rules first. Recreational wood fires are not allowed within Missoula city limits, and they are restricted during air quality alerts across the area.
Outdoor fireplaces. A built-in focal point for an outdoor living room or outdoor kitchen, in gas or wood, often finished with custom stone or masonry. Modular masonry firebox kits like Mason-Lite can be built for wood burning or fitted with gas logs.
Fire bowls and linear burners. Sleek accents along a pool edge, walkway, or retaining wall.
Patio heaters. Not a fire feature exactly, but mounted overhead infrared heaters from brands like Bromic are what keep a covered patio or pergola comfortable when the fire pit alone is not enough.
Montana tips for outdoor fire:
Choose materials rated for freeze and thaw cycles, and plan a cover for winter.
Keep wood burning fire pits well away from structures and overhanging branches. The Missoula Rural Fire District recommends at least 25 feet.
During summer fire season, watch for fire restrictions. Many restrictions still allow gas and propane appliances with an on/off switch when wood fires are banned, but always check current restrictions for your area.
Quick Comparison
Fuel Type | Heat Output | Upkeep | Real Flame | Works Without Power | Allowed New in Missoula Air Stagnation Zone |
Gas (direct vent) | High | Low | Yes | Many models | Yes |
Wood stove / insert | High | High | Yes | Yes | No |
Open wood fireplace | Low | High | Yes | Yes | Existing masonry only |
Pellet | Medium to high | Medium | Yes | No (without backup) | Yes |
Electric | Low (supplemental) | Very low | No | No | Yes |
Ethanol | Very low | Low | Yes | Yes | Not regulated as a wood burning device |
Missoula's Wood Burning Rules: What You Need to Know
Missoula sits in a mountain valley that traps cold air and smoke during winter inversions. After years of some of the worst winter air in the country, the city and county adopted wood-burning rules that are among the most comprehensive anywhere. Missoula has not exceeded the federal particulate standard since 1989, and these rules are a big reason why.
Here is what homeowners should know. (Regulations are updated from time to time, so always confirm the current rules for your specific address with Missoula Public Health before you buy.)
The Missoula Air Stagnation Zone
The Missoula Air Stagnation Zone was created in 1981 and extends roughly four miles beyond the Missoula city limits. Inside this zone:
No new wood stoves. Wood stoves have not been legally installed in the zone since 1994.
Pellet stoves and gas appliances may be installed. Recent rule updates also allow wood pellet boilers.
A permit is required to install any solid fuel-burning device anywhere in Missoula County.
You can look up your property on the county's Woodstove Information Map to see which rules apply to your address.
Outside the Air Stagnation Zone
Across most of the rest of Missoula County, only EPA-certified, clean-burning devices may be installed, and that has been the rule since 2010. The Seeley Lake area has its own wood stove zone, where newly installed devices must meet the EPA's strictest 2020 emission standards.
When You Sell or Buy a Home
This is the rule that catches people off guard. Inside the Air Stagnation Zone, solid fuel-burning devices must be removed when the property is sold or transferred, and a certificate of compliance must be filed with the Missoula County Clerk & Recorder. Updated rules approved locally in 2022 extend this to more situations, including inherited property, and remove the old grandfathering for certain wood stoves installed between 1986 and 1994.
Where these updates stand: Missoula County commissioners approved the latest round of air quality rule changes in August 2022, including the removal-at-sale expansion, the end of the 1986 to 1994 grandfathering, the Seeley Lake standards, and limits on recreational fires during air alerts. The State of Montana submitted them to the EPA on January 30, 2024, to be added to Montana's federally approved air quality plan, and the EPA proposed approving them on September 17, 2024. As of September 2026, we have not found a final EPA approval of these rules published in the Federal Register. Until that happens, ask Missoula Public Health which version of the rules applies to your property before you buy, sell, or remove a stove.
These devices are allowed to stay when a home changes hands:
Commercially manufactured pellet stoves
Stone or masonry fireplaces that are structurally part of the building
Wood-fired forced air furnaces that heat through ductwork or pressurized water
What this means for you: If you are planning to sell in the next few years and have an older wood stove or wood insert, converting to gas or pellet now can save you a last-minute scramble during closing.
Air Quality Alerts
During winter inversions, the health department can call air quality alerts. During a Stage I Air Alert, only the cleanest certified stoves, stoves that are a home's sole source of heat, and devices used by people with special needs are allowed to operate. Recreational fires are also restricted during air alerts and warnings.
Gas and electric fireplaces are not affected by these restrictions, which is one more reason many Missoula homeowners make the switch.
Recreational Fires and Fire Pits
Recreational wood fires are not allowed within Missoula city limits.
Outside city limits, the Missoula Rural Fire District allows small recreational campfires (no more than 3 feet across with flames under 2 feet) for cooking or warmth without a burn permit. Keep it at least 25 feet from buildings, have water and a shovel on hand, and never leave it unattended.
Larger outdoor burning requires a permit and is limited to the open burn season. Burning is closed December through February.
Always check that day's burning status and air quality before lighting a wood fire.
Bottom line: If you live in town and want a fire pit, gas or propane is the way to go.
For questions about your specific situation, contact Missoula Public Health's Air Quality Program at 406-258-4755.
Converting an Old Wood Fireplace to Gas With an Insert
If you have an old wood fireplace or wood insert that you rarely use because of the smoke, the mess, or the burn restrictions, a gas insert is one of the best upgrades you can make. A direct vent gas insert slides into your existing firebox, uses your chimney to run a sealed vent, and turns a drafty, inefficient hole in the wall into a real heat source you can use any day of the winter.
Gas Insert vs. Gas Log Set
Direct vent gas insert: A sealed, efficient heating appliance that fits inside your existing fireplace. Best choice for heat and for Missoula winters.
Gas log set: Burners and ceramic logs set into an open fireplace. Great look, but mostly decorative. The damper has to stay open, so a lot of heat goes up the chimney.
For most Montana homes, a direct vent insert is the better investment.
Step by Step: How the Conversion Works
1. Assess what you have. Is your fireplace a site-built masonry fireplace, a factory-built (prefab) firebox, or a fireplace with an old wood insert or stove already in it? Masonry fireplaces are the most straightforward. Factory-built fireplaces can only take an insert that is listed for use with that specific unit, so the model information matters.
2. Get a chimney inspection and cleaning. Before anything goes in, the chimney and firebox need to be cleaned of soot and creosote and inspected for cracks, damaged flue tiles, or other issues. This is also the time to remove any old wood insert or stove.
3. Choose your fuel. If your home has natural gas service, that is typically the easiest and cheapest to run. If not, propane works just as well and requires a tank on the property.
4. Measure the firebox and pick your insert. Front width, rear width, height, and depth all determine which inserts fit. From there you choose style (traditional logs or modern), heat output sized to the room, and a surround or trim kit that covers the old fireplace opening.
5. Pull permits. Running a gas line and installing a gas appliance requires a permit and inspection. Depending on your address, that is handled through the City of Missoula or the county or state building department. Your installer should handle this for you. For more on how permits work here, see our Step-by-Step Guide to Getting a Building Permit in Montana.
6. Run the gas line and electrical. A licensed gas fitter runs a new line to the fireplace with a shutoff valve. Most inserts also need a standard outlet for the blower fan and electronic ignition.
7. Install the venting liners. A direct vent insert uses two flexible liners (or one coaxial liner) run down the existing chimney. One brings fresh combustion air in, and the other carries exhaust out. They connect to a termination cap at the top of the chimney.
8. Set the insert and finish the surround. The insert is set into the firebox, connected to gas, venting, and power, and finished with a surround panel. This is also a great time to refresh the fireplace face with new stone, tile, or a new mantel.
9. Test, inspect, and walk through. The installer tests the burner, ignition, and venting, then the building inspector signs off. Make sure you have working carbon monoxide detectors in the home, and learn how to use the remote, thermostat, and pilot.
10. Schedule annual service. A yearly checkup keeps the insert running safely and efficiently for years.
Why Missoula Homeowners Convert
Use it any day of the winter, including air quality alert days, with no smoke.
Real heat. A direct vent insert can warm a whole living area and lower your furnace use.
Easier home sales. An old wood stove or wood insert inside the Air Stagnation Zone may have to be removed at sale. A gas insert does not.
No wood, no ash, no chimney fires.
Cleaner air for you and your neighbors in the valley.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I install a new wood stove in Missoula?
Not inside the Missoula Air Stagnation Zone, which reaches about four miles past the city limits. New wood stoves haven't been allowed there since 1994. Pellet stoves and gas appliances can still be installed, and a permit is required for any solid fuel-burning device in Missoula County.
Can I have a wood fire pit in Missoula?
Recreational wood fires are banned year-round inside Missoula city limits. Outside city limits, the Missoula Rural Fire District allows small campfires (no more than 3 feet across, with flames under 2 feet) at least 25 feet from structures when burning is open. In town, a gas or propane fire pit is the way to go.
Do I have to remove my wood stove when I sell my house?
Inside the Air Stagnation Zone, older solid fuel-burning devices must be removed when the property is sold, and a certificate of compliance is filed with the Missoula County Clerk & Recorder. Commercially made pellet stoves, masonry fireplaces built into the home, and wood-fired forced air furnaces can stay.
Can I use my gas fireplace during an air quality alert?
Yes. Gas and electric fireplaces aren't affected by Missoula's air alert restrictions.
Is a gas insert or a gas log set better?
For heat, a direct vent gas insert. A gas log set is mostly decorative because the damper has to stay open, so much of the heat goes up the chimney.
Work With a Local Pro
Fireplaces and fire features involve gas lines, venting, electrical, masonry, permits, and air quality rules, and getting any one of them wrong can mean a failed inspection, a safety hazard, or a problem when you sell. Working with an experienced local installer who knows Missoula's rules keeps the project simple.
At Big Sky Outdoor Spaces, we design and install indoor and outdoor fireplaces, gas fire pits and fire tables, outdoor fireplaces, patio heaters, and gas insert conversions throughout the Missoula area. We handle the design, the stone and masonry, and the coordination with our licensed gas and electrical partners so you have one team from start to finish.
Ready to talk fire? Call us at 406-493-0570 or visit our showroom at 2100 Stephens Ave in Missoula. Showroom hours are Monday through Friday, 10 to 6, and Saturday and Sunday by appointment. Explore our Fire Features & Outdoor Heating page to see what we offer.
Planning a bigger outdoor space? See our Montana and Idaho Grill Buyer's Guide and our American Whirlpool Hot Tub and Swim Spa Buyer's Guide.
This article is for general information. Air quality, building, and fire regulations change, so confirm current rules for your address with Missoula Public Health, your local fire district, and your building department before starting a project.
Comments