Lawrence Mountain fire continues to burn

The Lawrence Mountain fire, located south of Lawrence Mountain on the Rexford Ranger District, as of Thursday had burned approximately 1,200 acres since it began on Sept. 2, Kootenai National Forest officials reported.

The fire has been burning in heavy, downed lodgepole pine. The regeneration timber harvest and prescribed burning that took place in the area during the 1990s has limited the fire’s spread, officials said, and allowed fire managers to continue using a confine/contain suppression strategy.

The Parsnip fire, located approximately one-half mile north of the Lawrence Mountain fire, was also being managed under a confine/contain strategy. On Sept. 17, a decision was made to fully suppress the Parsnip fire to insure that it did not cross the drainage and burn to the north.

A 20-person crew, made up of Idaho Panhandle and Kootenai National Forest employees, contained the Parsnip Fire at six acres early last week.

Smoke from the Lawrence Mountain fire will likely continue to impact local communities intermittently. A high-pressure system has not allowed for good smoke dispersion.

“The severity of the smoke impacts on our communities will be dependent on the wind direction and the stability of the atmosphere,” Kootenai National Forest’s Willie Sykes said in a press release. “Some areas could see heavy smoke impacts while others may not see any noticeable effect.”

Daily monitoring of the fire will continue until enough moisture has been received to eliminate any threats, Sykes added.

For public safety, an area closure has been established for the Lawrence Mountain area and will be in effect until further notice. The closure has been enlarged to include a three-mile radius around Lawrence Mountain.