Wildfire season begins in Western Montana
The time for controlled burning has passed; the time to control unwanted fires has begun.
Local wildfire control organizations including the U.S. Forest Service, the Montana DNRC and the BIA will stop issuing burn permits from June 30 on as the 2013 wildfire season officially arrives in western Montana.
The three USFS ranger districts involved – the Superior and Plains/Thompson Falls RDs from the Lolo National Forest and the Cabinet RD (headquartered in Trout Creek) – the Bureau of Indian Affairs office in Ronan, which administers burn permits for the northern portion of Sanders County in the Hot Springs area, and the Montana DNRC office in Plains, will all cease the issuing of burn permits until the fire season of 2013 has passed.
Having endured a slightly drier spring than their northern neighbors, the Superior RD actually stopped issuing burn permits in Mineral County on June 9 after several permitted fires in that area escaped the control of landowners and required initial attack operations.
The organization charged with fire control operations in the Superior, Plains and Thompson Falls areas, which includes western portions of Mineral County and the eastern side of Sanders County, during the wildfire season, the Plains Dispatch Center has been dealing with those few escaped burns, and busy sending local personnel off on assignments, mostly to the southwest U.S.
PDC manager Ned Winebrenner says firefighters, engines and overhead personnel have been dispatched to Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado and Alaska in the past several weeks to aid firefighting efforts in those states. Winebrenner’s office regularly dispatches local firefighters and specialists to aid in the national fire control effort.
“We have still got quite a few folks out on fires,” he said. “But we do expect things to change in the near future as things dry out around here. Weather forecasts are calling for temperatures in the mid-90s by the weekend.”
Put hot weather and fireworks together and the situation for potential fire starts always changes, as it will in the coming weeks leading up to July 4.
Fireworks are prohibited on all U.S. Forest Service lands, and also on all state-protected lands classified as forested zones.
With the permitted burn season officially ending, people are reminded that those burning without a permit could face fines and be required to pay suppression costs in the event of an escaped fire. In any event, any person who lights a fire is ultimately responsible for any damage that fire causes.
For more information regarding fireworks or other fire regulations on Montana’s forested lands, please contact the DNRC or USFS at one of the following phone numbers: DNRC Plains Unit – 826-3851; Plains/Thompson Falls Ranger District – 826-3821; Cabinet Ranger District (Trout Creek) – 827-3533; or Superior Ranger District – 822-4233. To reach fire personnel at the Ronan BIA office call 676-2550.