Fire danger lowered after heavy rain

MINERAL COUNTY – After days of heavy rains in Mineral County, the fire danger in the area was reduced to high on Saturday, Aug. 23, by the Forest Service and the Stage 1 fire restrictions were lifted allowing people to once again have campfires.

The measures were in response to heavier than usual rainfall in the area that has reduced the likelihood of a fire to start and spread despite hundreds of lightning strikes that accompanied the storms. Lightning is always a concern, according to F.S. officials, but this time there was simply too much rain for it to have much effect.

Forest Service Assistant Fire Management Officer Teo Digiando said as of 12:01 a.m. Saturday, Aug. 23, conditions were such that the fire danger was lowered to high and is expected to stay that way for at least a week.

“We received nearly an inch of rain around Superior and in the west end, they got almost an inch and a half over the last week,” Digiando said. “The restrictions were lifted because of the lack of large fire potential and the higher humidity. The rain lasted long enough to affect a lot of the larger fuels.”

Digiando said because the larger fuels were able to absorb enough moisture, the potential for them to catch fire and spread a fire was significantly reduced. He said the long duration of cloud cover also lowered the temperature fuels are exposed to which also extends the period of time it takes them to dry out.

The forecast for this week could see the fire danger still hovering around high possibly into next week. Digiando said things will dry out somewhat but then another storm system could be coming through the area.

“This week we are expecting average temperatures and relative humidity,” Digiando said. “The fuels will go back to being really dry again. The temps should be normal for this area in August. The chances of more moisture coming through is probably about 50 percent. Most of the models are predicting another system similar to the one we just had.”

As the days get shorter and temperatures gradually lower, Digiando said the likelihood of a major fire event is starting to dwindle. While the area is not officially out of fire danger, Digiando, who has been with the F.S. for 15 years, said there was a phenomenon of the calendar, well known to F.S. officials and personnel, that has passed.

“Something always happens around mid-August,” Digiando said. “People around here always talk about it. Something always happens around Aug. 20 that has an impact on the fire danger. This year, it was this storm.”

While officials believe the county has passed a milestone of sorts, they cautioned that conditions can change rapidly and the public should still remain cautious with their fire behavior.

“I would advise that it is still August in Montana and we still can have fires,” Digiando said.

“But the chances of us having a project fire, where it gets so large we can’t handle it, has gone down to the point where I don’t think it’s a possibility anymore this year. It would have to hit the perfect spot on the perfect day.”