Fire restrictions to remain in place

Despite unusually high temperatures and windy conditions, no wildland fires were reported in Lincoln County during the Independence Day holiday weekend. Three fires, characterized as minor by fire officials, were ignited by lightning in the Kootenai National Forest during the past week.

The Lincoln County Board of Commissioners, in response to the increased fire danger caused by the weather conditions, passed a resolution banning open fire ignitions, including fireworks, in all unincorporated areas of the county. The City of Troy, the only municipality in the county in which fireworks were legal, followed suit with a similar resolution late last week.

The United States Forest Service and Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation, working with an interagency committee of fire officials from Lincoln County, Sanders County, Flathead County and Glacier National Park, have maintained Stage 1 fire restrictions for the Kalispell region, which includes Lincoln County.

The fire restrictions prohibit any open fires, including campfires, except in improved and developed recreation sites and smoking is allowed only in areas cleared of all flammable material.

The Forest Service has a list of 58 approved campsites in and around the Kootenai National Forest with developed pits where campfires are allowed.

Forest Service fire official Jeff Stevenson said the restrictions, combined with the willingness of people to comply, helped alleviate a great deal of the risk during the weekend.

“The public was phenomenal over the Fourth of July weekend,” he said. “The adherence to the fireworks bans and campfire restrictions prevented potentially dangerous fire activity in the forest.”

Kootenai National Forest fire management officer Dan Rose said he was relieved, by the lack of fire activity in the region, especially in light of fires in surrounding areas.

“We had a quiet weekend,” he said. “It was a pleasant surprise, especially with fire activity in Flathead County and the Idaho panhandle.”

At least 10 significant wildfires in Washington state were burning more than 21,000 acres as of Wednesday afternoon.

Rose said the only recent fire activity in the Kootenai National Forest was a small fire at Red Top, north of Troy July 1. Fire crews fought the blaze for two days before knocking it down. The fire was limited to four acres, which is large for a fire this early in the season, Rose said.

“It was a little bigger than normal for this time of year,” he said.

Two additional fires in the Troy District of the Kootenai National Forest were ignited by lightning after the holiday weekend. Stevenson said the fires, both on Sheepherder Mountain, were very minor and are both controlled at this point.

“I haven’t checked with dispatch yet to get the official status, but they’re well taken care of at this point,” he said.

A third lightning-caused fire was ignited Tuesday. The fire, Stevenson said, was quickly controlled by quick-responding crews.

Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation fire officials also reported a quiet weekend.

“No fires were reported in our fire protection area,” said Libby unit fire supervisor Wyatt Frampton.

Frampton said there was one minor lightning fire reported late last week on Hornet Ridge at the top of Canyon Creek, but no significant damage occurred.

Frampton said he is in close contact with the National Weather Service in Missoula, as the forecast for the coming week includes thunder and lightning, a primary ignition source for wildland fires.

“We’re very pleased that it was a quiet weekend,” he said. “We’re keeping a close eye on the next round of lightning.”

Stevenson said the interagency committee, which includes representatives from all of the affected areas and agencies, meets every Tuesday to evaluate the fire risk and determine the next course of action. He said the chances of the restrictions being lifted this season are probably slight, barring an unusually heavy rainfall for an extended period of time. It’s more likely, he said, that restrictions could be increased to Stage 2.

“It’s really hard to say how long this will last,” Stevenson said. “The real question is whether we have to go to the next step, which is something we’ve been considering. We’ll make those calls weekly as we look at the conditions.”

Stage 2 restrictions preclude the building, maintaining, attending or using any campfires. Smoking, except in an enclosed vehicle or building or in a developed recreation site or in an area at least three feet in diameter that is barren or cleared of all flammable material is also prohibited in Stage 2.

The restrictions also prohibit the operation of internal combustion engines, welding or operating any open-flame torches, the use of explosives and the operation of motorized vehicles off designated roads and trails. Specific exemptions are available from authorities for necessary activities, but exemptions do not remove liability for any fire started, even by the exempt activity.