People need burn permits starting May 1

Homeowners can still burn yard debris and logging slash, but a permit is now required for burning anywhere in Sanders County.

If and when fire season conditions develop, permits will or will not be issued on a case by case basis, according to Fire Prevention Technician John Hamilton of the U.S. Forest Service’s Plains/Thompson Falls Ranger District.

Open burning officially ends for the season on April 30.

After May 1, burning permits are required in this portion of Montana.

“Of course, it would be preferable if everyone had already done all their burning by now,” said Hamilton.

“But we realize that there will be instances when people are going to need to burn debris. The permit system we have in place allows that burning to be done, but makes people be accountable and, hopefully, more careful.”

Depending on exactly where in Sanders County the proposed burning is going to occur, there are three different locations where burning permits can be obtained at no cost.

If it is unfeasible for residents to physically pick up their permits, permits can be issued by phone and/or on-site visits from the responsible agencies.

In the Plains and Thompson Falls areas, the U.S. Forest Service and the Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation office in Plains are charged with issuing permits for their fire protection areas, which includes all state, private and federal lands on and adjacent to the Lolo National Forest, outside of city limits.

In the western portion of Sanders County, including the communities of Trout Creek, Noxon and Heron, the Cabinet Ranger District office in Trout Creek is charged with administering the burn permit program, which includes private, state and Kootenai National Forest Lands in the west end of the county.

To obtain a burning permit in the Plains and Thompson Falls area, there are two possible avenues for securing a permit, depending on which fire jurisdiction landowners reside in.

For the most part, DNRC administers the fire protection area surrounding the community of Plains approximately five to seven miles east, west and south of city limits, and the Thompson River corridor north to Highway 2.

The Plains/Thompson Falls Ranger District office administers the remainder of Sanders County on all U.S. Forest Service, DNRC and private lands to the boundary between the Lolo and Kootenai National Forests approximately 10 miles northwest of Thompson Falls along the Clark Fork River corridor.

West of that forest boundary, the Cabinet Ranger District of the Kootenai National Forest administers the western portion of Sanders County for burning permits out of its office west of Trout Creek.

To secure a burning permit in the DNRC protection area around Plains and areas north of there, call the Montana DNRC at 826-3851 or visit the agency’s office at 14 Airport Road just west of Plains.

For a permit on the Plains/Thompson Falls Forest Service protection area, call 826-3821 or stop by the office at 408 Clayton Avenue in Plains.

In the Trout Creek, Noxon and Heron areas, stop in at Cabinet Ranger district office west of Trout Creek at 2693 Highway 200, or call the office at 827-3533.

Regardless of which protection area the permit is issued to, the responsibility for safe burning remains with the landowner.

Any costs associated with the containment of an escaped fire can be charged back against the landowner. Although having a valid permit is the first step to safe, legal burning by homeowners, the possession of a permit does not free individuals from liability if an escaped burn were to occur.

After the permit is secured but before burning starts, people are asked to call the Air Shed Hotline at 1-800-225-6779 (or visit HYPERLINK “http://www.smokemu.org” www.smokemu.org) and to check the weather forecast, either by calling the National Weather Service information hotline at 329-4840 or 721-3939 (for recorded weather), or by visiting the organization’s Web site at HYPERLINK “http://www.wrh.noaa.gov” www.wrh.noaa.gov.

There are two types of burning allowed under the terms of the permits being issued in Sanders County, either agricultural debris from farming, ranching and gardening, or natural debris created from activities such as land clearing or timber harvest, or natural accumulations of needles, grasses, leaves, shrubs, limbs and trees, said Hamilton.

The fire prevention technician said that materials that should not be burned in debris piles include treated or painted wood or lumber, tar paper, tires, insulated wire, oil products, Styrofoam, plastics, food wastes, animal parts or waste, hazardous waste, business waste, and any manmade materials.

While burning, plenty of water, additional help, tools and equipment should be kept on hand and be ready to use in case of unexpected changes in fire behavior, he added.

Above all else, said Hamilton, the permitted fire must be attended until no smoke or live embers remain.