Officials urge safe burning practices

ST. REGIS-At approximately 8:30 p.m. on Thursday, April 3, the Mineral County Sheriff’s Office received a call of a possible forest fire in the mountains behind the OK Cafe in St. Regis.

The Mineral County Sheriff’s Office has stated that the fire was a controlled burn and they did not believe it was out of control.

However, the fire itself produced enough thick smoke to linger around neighborhood streets, attracting gawkers who were eager to catch a glimpse.

Some of the smoke even made its way toward the truck stop right off of Interstate 90.

As warmer weather nears, most forest fires start as a result of burns where people think the fire is under control, said Crystal Beckman, fire prevention specialist for the Montana Forestry Division.

Although many fires can start out small, a fire can spread quickly and easily get out of hand, spreading into nearby forests, said Beckman.

“Most of our published information online is to let the public know that debris burning is the number one human cause of forest fires,” Beckman said.

The debris that Beckman mentions is most commonly associated with fires created by large brush piles that people start in their yards or elsewhere.

“The info provided on our website is there to educate the public about burning,” Beckman said.

Upcoming events to promote fire safety include National Wildfire Community Preparedness day on May 3, a fire brief with the governor on May 12 and a wildfire awareness week June 2-8.

“We are ramping up to let people know about wildfire preparedness week in June,” she said.

According to Beckman, it’s hard to gauge just how many forest fires there will be each year, because it usually depends on how much precipitation the state gets in the months of May and June when the amount of rainfall is typically higher

The number of forest fires in the summer season is also affected by the amount of spring precipitation that falls, as well as how fast the snow melts and the amount of potential flooding.

People who are seeking a burn permit in Mineral County must go in person to their local fire department and obtain one free of charge. People residing in other counties can use an online system when requesting burn permits which is also free of charge.