Officials urge fire burning caution
Although the calendar says it is now open burning season in western Montana, warm and dry conditions have produced a late wildfire season and prompted local officials into issuing warnings about fire safety. Open burning season in Montana officially begins Oct. 1 and runs through Nov. 30. During most fall seasons, this area receives at least some periods of wetter weather, but that has not been the case this year as September has been one of the driest months on record. Most of Sanders County has not had any significant precipitation since mid-August and daytime temperatures have been running 10 to 15 degrees warmer than normal for this time of year.
When and where people are usually lighting fires during this time of season, those same people are fighting fires around western Montana this year. In the past few weeks, several late season wildfires have been keeping crews busy. This past week alone, the Plains Dispatch Center, which administers fire control efforts throughout much of western Sanders County and eastern Mineral County, has been managing several late-season wildfires, including a hunter-caused fire in the Greenwood Hill area and a lightning-holdover fire near Deer Lake. Elsewhere around western Montana, a 109-acre fire broke out on DNRC-protected ground near Lincoln Tuesday night and, outside of Stevensville, the 4,830-acre Kootenai Creek wildfire, which started earlier this summer, continues to burn as crews try to halt its advance before it reaches developed areas. Another late-breaking fire this week has consumed approximately 300 acres west of Arlee.
“It would be excellent if folks could wait to burn until after we get some rain,” Plains DNRC Fire Supervisor Calvin Minemyer said. “People around here know it is very dry, a fire could escape control very quickly in conditions like this.” Current fire danger is rated as “High” in the Plains Dispatch Center responsibility area.
Plains/Thompson Falls Ranger District Fire Management Officer Rick Cavill appreciates the fact that people have been careful with their burning so far this year and urges further caution until wetting rains arrive. “People have been good about getting their burning done in the spring,” he said, “but just because the calendar says it is open burning season now does not mean that they should start lighting off slash piles just yet.”
If people feel they must burn, officials hope it is nothing more than yard debris with hand tools available and hose and water right to the burn site.